


Cendrillon

by mapleprincess



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/F, Friendship, M/M, Magic, Romance, Visions in dreams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26378830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mapleprincess/pseuds/mapleprincess
Summary: - Cendrillon, or A Tale of Two Knights -Once upon a time, there was a prince who lived in a kingdom plagued by mysterious disappearances and malicious demons.Once upon a time, there was a commoner with a troubled past who swore to set things right.Shall their stories have a happy ending?[On hiatus until January 2021]
Relationships: Atem & Mutou Yuugi, Bakura Ryou/Honda Hiroto | Tristan Taylor, Ishizu Ishtar/Kujaku Mai | Mai Valentine, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler & Kawai Shizuka | Serenity Wheeler, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler & Kujaku Mai | Mai Valentine, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto, Kaiba Gozaburo & Kaiba Seto, Kaiba Mokuba & Kaiba Noa, Kaiba Mokuba & Kaiba Seto, Mutou Yuugi & Yami Yuugi | Atem
Comments: 9
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue ~ Before the bell strikes midnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and welcome to this story! Ah, I'm so excited to share this fic here!  
> If you're used to my Puppyshipping stories, just know that this fic will be very different. No raunchy plot here! But a tale filled with romance, action, magic and more that I hope you enjoy.  
> Jounouchi and Kaiba will take center stage in this story, but other characters will shine as well! Expect to see Mokuba and Noa a lot.  
> Without further ado, please enjoy this little prologue. Chapter 1 will be much longer and posted on Friday :)

One second, he’s holding her hand; and all of a sudden, she pushes him away and flees, panic coursing through her body, her graceful traits deformed by an intense fear. He begins to chase her, shouting, almost begging her to wait, to come back; but his pleas fall deaf on her ears, the tiara on top of her hair bobbing along the impressive speed of her steps.

The sound of her heels resonates in the hallway, their crystalline _click-clack_ the only thing he can hear amidst the noises of the party, and none of them stop running, even when she starts racing down the stairs and loses one of her shoes in the process.

But she’s thrown off-balance, and she has barely made it a few steps after the staircase when she tumbles. Fast as lightning, she throws her other glass heel away, but by the time she starts running again, he’s caught up with her. Both of them out of breath, he grabs her delicate wrist, his hold firm in its desperation.

And somewhere in the distance, the ballroom’s clock strikes midnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well, who are these mysterious people?
> 
> If you were wondering, yes, this story was in part inspired by one of my all-time favorite Vocaloid songs, "Cendrillon" featuring Miku and Kaito. There are several versions of this song, but my favorite has to be the rendition by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra!  
> Of course, this fic isn't just "here's the Cendrillon PV with Yu-Gi-Oh! characters", don't worry. The song was just an influence!
> 
> Also, a fun fact: in the original story, Cendrillon (Cinderella) didn't wear glass slippers at all! She wore vair shoes. But in French (the language Cinderella was written in), "vair" is pronounced exactly like "verre", which means glass. And since the glass slippers are far more iconic, and look prettier than vair slippers, I kept them :)
> 
> See you on Friday for the first chapter! A little teaser: we'll get to meet Jounouchi, Kaiba, Mokuba, Ishizu and some other characters ~


	2. First strike ~ Distant dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story can now truly begin!!  
> I'm so excited for this project!! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it ^w^  
> The chapter's a bit long, but I really wanted to properly develop the story's setting. Also, there's more angst than I initially planned... 
> 
> Enjoy!

_His chest rising and falling rapidly, the young man struggles to get up. The ribs nearest to his heart hurt where his opponent struck, pain pulsing and radiating as if the wooden sword keeps colliding with his body, again and again._

_“Had I been using a real weapon, you’d still be lying on the floor. Dead.”  
_ _“Shut up, you pretentious prick.”_

_Facing him, his victorious adversary grins, and he hates the way it sends shivers down his spine. Long, blonde hair tied in a low, messy ponytail glistening under the sun, indigo eyes smugly glaring at him, confidence radiating from his lean, muscled body, his rival looks very punchable and oh so desirable._

_“By your logic, had we been using real weapons, I would have killed you earlier in our duel, when I hit your flank.”  
_ _“I don’t think so.” The blonde steps closer, and the young man follows suit, ignoring the way his chest screams with every step he takes. “At worst, I would have been slowed down, but definitely not killed. Your gesture lacked precision. You wouldn’t have pierced any vital organ.”  
_ _“Maybe not, but I don’t think you could have fought for very long with blood pouring out of your body.”  
_ _“Don’t underestimate me, weakling.”_

_They’re mere inches apart now, and the young man can clearly see every drop of sweat on the blonde’s face, every bruise, every lash that bats cruelly at him whenever the blonde blinks. The young man’s eyes can’t help but linger on the other's lips as he wonders how they taste, how the small cut in the middle of the lower lip would feel against his tongue._

_Foregoing all sense of prudence, he closes the gap between them, and-_

“Katsuya! You’re going to be late!”

A sense of dread seized the teen, and he was brutally torn away from his dream, drenched in cold sweat. Although he was glad his sister had woken him up, he couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed that his dream had to end so abruptly. Even though the thought made him blush, the mysterious, handsome man had a magnetic, commanding aura and he had _really_ wanted to find out what kissing such a dazzling person would feel like.

“Coming in a minute, Shizuka!”

Katsuya shook his head, his wild mane moving in rhythm as he did his best to vanquish the last remnants of sleep still clinging to his body. He hoped the motions would also help chase the blond stranger away from his mind, but to no avail. The man with the piercing, ultramarine blue eyes was never easy to let go of.  
The stranger had started to show up in his dreams a few years ago. Katsuya was around thirteen then, and the stranger had shown up one stormy night, in a dream that had felt particularly vivid. Katsuya had spent the rest of the following day haunted by the mysterious warrior’s presence, unable to think about anything else for some reason he couldn’t understand. Since then, the prick had visited him regularly, around once a month, and every time Katsuya felt the dreams featuring him particularly intensely. But for the past year, the occurrence of those nightly visions had increased, and now Katsuya found himself dreaming about the blonde jerk almost every night.

Even as he got dressed and ran down the stairs, Katsuya was unable to do anything else but fantasize about how the annoying, yet fascinating stranger’s embrace would feel.

“Are you alright, big brother?”

Her hair pulled back in a neat bun and an apron around her hips, Shizuka looked at her beloved elder with concern. Chuckling to hide his embarrassment, Katsuya gave her an affectionate kiss on top of the forehead before hastily putting his shoes on.

“Of course I am, don’t worry about it. Is Anzu still coming over today?”  
“Yes, she promised to help me with a tricky part of the dress I’m working on.”  
“Perfect. Tell her I said hi.”  
“Why don’t you tell her yourself? She’ll probably stay until teatime.”

Katsuya shook his head, ignoring the guilt poking at his heart when he saw his sister’s pout.

“No can do, sorry. I promised Ishizu I would help her today.”  
“Oh… well, I’ll be sure to give her your regards, then.”

Katsuya waved his sister goodbye, and he hurriedly left the small house they rented together. Well, _he_ rented it; although Shizuka made a little bit of money from sewing clothes that needed repair, Katsuya was the one to provide for the two of them- which was exactly why he couldn’t afford to show up late at work. Sure, his boss wouldn’t fire him, but she was extremely exigent towards herself and her employees, and the last thing Katsuya wanted to do was to anger her.

“You made it just in time, Jounouchi.”

Thankfully, the nearby temple’s bells rang seven times right as the blonde stepped inside the Harpie’s Den. Doing his best to catch his breath, Katsuya still managed to smile at his employer, who stood in front of him with her trademark playful, determined smirk.

One could easily assume that Mai Kujaku, with her long hair flowing behind her like a deceitful halo, her sparkling amethyst, doe-like eyes, elegant dress and graceful poise, was yet another naive noblewoman who got lost in the shadiest parts of Aeternia’s capital, and they couldn’t be more mistaken. Although her heart was noble, Mai was anything but naive; growing up as an orphan, she had been raised by harlots, bartenders and bandits, and acquired many skills to ensure her survival and earn easy money. She’d once led a fierce gang of thieves and conmen, but those wild days were over, and she was now the respectable owner of the Harpie’s Den, a hostel at the heart of the poor district she grew up in.

However, even though her profession was honorable and she had put her tumultuous past behind her, she remained the same fiery, determined woman and Katsuya did his best to avoid upsetting her.

“Of course I made it in time.” the blonde smiled. “I always do!”  
“Hmm, that’s true, and I have to say I’m impressed. However…”

Mai stepped towards him, and Katsuya rolled his eyes. The innkeeper always managed to find something to complain about, whether it be a spot on his shirt, a bruise on his cheek, or bags under his eyes- Jounouchi knew it was all because she cared about him and enjoyed teasing him, but he still found it annoying.

“What have you been up to last night? You’re all dirty and greasy… go take a shower, alright? Don’t you step into my kitchen until you’ve cleaned it all!”  
“Come on, I’m gonna sweat in the kitchen anyways! I’ll just shower later!” Katsuya tried to negotiate. He’d never lived in a house that had a bathroom, and although he always made sure to set aside some money for Shizuka to go to the public baths everyday, the blonde’s priority wasn’t his hygiene, as long as he was and felt presentable.  
“No, you’ll shower now.” Mai pointed a perfectly manicured finger at the teen. “The suite’s free, so you can use it as long as you clean afterwards. No ifs or buts. And I’m expecting you in the kitchen in thirty minutes.”  
“Okay, okay, fine!”

Katsuya groaned, but he headed upstairs after childishly sticking his tongue at Mai once she’s turned her back to him. He had hoped to chase the mysterious man of his dreams out of his mind by keeping himself busy and focusing on cooking, but now that he found himself alone and with nothing to keep his brain focused elsewhere, his thoughts kept drifting back to the stranger, to his mesmerizing eyes, to his almost hypnotic aura.

As Jounouchi stepped inside the inn’s suite, he couldn’t help the sigh that escaped his lips. How pathetic was he, to be so haunted by someone who didn’t really exist, who was nothing but a vision his mind conjured almost every night? Even though the other man felt so real, he was nothing more than a figment of his imagination, and as he kept repeating it to himself in hopes of forgetting about the blonde for the rest of his day, he couldn’t help the small, piercing feeling of inexplicable sorrow that picked at his heart.

* * *

“Your Highness! Your Highness, where are you?”

Hidden behind heavy burgundy drapes, Prince Mokuba couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. He couldn’t see anything from where he was, but he could clearly recognize a hint of annoyance and a lot of worry in the tone of his etiquette teacher, professor Tanaka. The boy didn’t hold any grudge against the middle-aged man, but he found his lessons boring and interminable, and attending them felt like the worst of chores, especially when he had other appointments.

Granted, he could have scheduled a meeting with his favorite Royal Mage at another time, but it was the occasion to kill two birds with one stone: skipping his etiquette lesson, and spending some time with Ryou. Mokuba was almost certain Tanaka would never tell his older brother that the boy had, _again_ , not attended his lesson: there wasn’t a lot of people in the palace that would dare to face Prince Seto’s anger, and Tanaka was certainly not brave enough to take that initiative.

Which meant that as long as Mokuba showed up an hour before the end of his three-hour course, no-one would ask any questions. Which was extremely convenient, because no-one was supposed to know he was meeting Ryou either.

“Oh, where has he gone now…”

Making sure not to move an inch, Mokuba listened as his instructor left the corridor. He waited until the place fell in complete silence, then dared to peek behind the drapes hiding him.

“Boo!”

The young prince almost screamed, but he managed to bring his hands to his mouth and muffle the startled sound. He was answered by an amused chuckle from the person who had scared him, which Mokuba gratified with a grunt.

“It’s not funny, Ryou! Tanaka could have heard me.”  
“Don’t worry, I saw him heading towards your study room. I don’t think he’ll be coming back for a while.”  
“Let’s hope so.” Mokuba sighed, before quickly flashing an excited smile at the young mage standing in front of him.

Although he was barely seventeen years old, Ryou Bakura was a talented mage, excelling both in protective and healing spells and darker, offensive and even forbidden magic. He had started to show signs of a great potential at a very young age, which had attracted King Gozaburo’s attention, and the young mage had been living in the castle for around ten years, with little to no contact with the outside world.

A lot of people were scared by the immensity and versatility of Ryou’s powers, even amongst the other Royal Mages. But Ryou was a gentle, kind person who had been very lonely until he’d recently managed to form a few friendships in the palace, and Mokuba considered him one of his best friends. Especially since he was secretly teaching him ancient, forbidden spells.

Unlike his older brother Seto, Mokuba wasn’t born with raw, grand powers. At most, he could cast a few basic spells, even if he was training hard under the tutelage of his brother. But grand displays of power weren’t his preoccupation; he had approached Ryou to learn about something else entirely, something Seto would be _extremely_ mad about if he knew about it.

“Come on, let’s go!” Mokuba whispered as he grabbed the white-haired teen’s hand and started running in the corridor, staying close to the wall and its heavy, opaque drapes in case they had to quickly hide.

As they made their way to Ryou’s private study, the mage couldn’t help but feel nervous. _Technically_ speaking, he wasn’t forbidden to spend some time alone with the young prince, but he would have a lot of trouble explaining why they had to meet in secret. Not only were the techniques he taught Mokuba considered taboo, they were also incredibly dangerous if used without proper precautions.

“Remind me why I agreed to this?” Ryou muttered as they reached the last corridor before his sanctuary.  
“Because if you didn’t, I would have tattled about your little secret to my father.”  
“So young, and already dabbling in blackmail.”  
“What can I say? I’m doing what I have to do.”

Ryou could only answer with a sigh, earning a chuckle from his student.

* * *

“This is the place?”  
“Well, it is the address I was given.”

Katsuya couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious. His charge and him were standing in front of a decrepit, old, small house, who looked utterly miserable even compared to the poor district’s standards. After casting a quick glance behind him, the blonde reiterated his doubts:

“Listen, miss Ishtar, I have a bad feeling about this.”  
“The woman who contacted me mentioned living in extreme poverty.” the woman next to him replied softly, but determination twinkling in her eyes. “I’m sadly not surprised by the state of her house.”  
“Yeah, but this place looks like it’s not even habitable… are you really sure you wanna get inside?”

Her graceful posture tensing a bit, Ishizu Ishtar turned towards Katsuya.

“Jounouchi, this isn’t the first time I’m going somewhere in this state, sadly. And I’m grateful you could take on Rishid’s duties for today, but know that even if you’re not following me, I’m still going in.”  
“Woah, I never said I wouldn’t follow you!” Katsuya raised his hands defensively. “Ain’t no way I’m letting you alone, especially when you’re working.”

Katsuya knew Mai would kill him if he were to abandon her fiancée, but even then, the blonde had a strong sense of honor and always protected those weaker than her. Ishizu wasn’t “weak” per se, given her powerful, mysterious abilities, but she specialized in divination and healing, and Katsuya wouldn’t bet on her coming out victorious of a fist fight with thugs.

“Let’s get going, then.” the woman smiled, before walking towards the house.

Katsuya checked that the blade he had hidden in his boot was still there – he was an expert in barehanded brawls, but it never hurt to take extra precautions – before following her, all his senses on high alert when Ishizu knocked on the old, worm-eaten wooden door.  
There was a bit of rumble inside, then someone quickly opened the door and hurriedly ask them to come inside. The pair complied after one last look behind them, relived to find the alley was still empty.

“Thank you so much for coming.” the woman who had greeted them sounded truly grateful, relief palpable in her voice.

Katsuya was now able to take a good look at the stranger. She looked like she was around forty, but the blonde guessed it was mostly because she wasn't even thirty yet and was working in the ambrosia fields north of the capital. Ambrosia was an important component in a lot of powerful potions, and wasn’t considered dangerous when used in small quantities; but exposure to great doses, for example when slaving away twelve hours a day in the vast fields where the plant was cultivated, was sure to ruin one’s health.  
Akari Jounouchi, deceased at only thirty-one years old after spending ten years working there, was only one example amongst far too many.

“We’ve tried all the treatments you can think of, but none of them work.” The woman sighed as she guided them to a door at the back of the small, cramped living room. “We sold our previous house, our horse, we borrowed money to buy even the most expensive of medicines… but nothing. My husband’s not even able to leave his bed anymore.”

Tears started to pool at the corner of her eyes, and Katsuya felt his heart sink a little bit. The woman’s distress was genuine, and he was now sure it wasn’t a trap.  
Before the woman could open the door to what was probably her bedroom, Ishizu gently grabbed her hands.

“I swear to do the best I can, Mrs Yamada.” her tone was soothing. “I can’t promise to heal your husband, but I vow to relieve him to the best of my abilities, and I hope I can bring the two of you some peace.”  
“Thank you, thank you.” Mrs Yamada repeated, her tears now flowing down her flushed cheeks.

Katsuya searched in his pocket and found a clean tissue, one that Shizuka had embroidered with floral patterns, and he handed it to the poor woman.

“Thank you… I don’t want my Tobio to see me cry.” she whispered as she dabbed the corners of her eyes and wiped the wet streaks on her cheeks. “The disease is hard enough on him, I don’t want him to have to carry the burden of my sorrow.”

From the corner of his eye, Katsuya noticed Ishizu’s posture tense a bit. The clairvoyant was generally good at finding words that put people at ease, but it seemed even she was at a loss at how to handle such profound distress.  
After she was done cleaning her face, Mrs Yamada gently knocked on the door, opened it and stepped inside the room, Katsuya and Ishizu following her.

Curtains were drawn over the exiguous room’s sole window. The air felt heavy and smelled vaguely of withering roses, the fragrance assaulting Katsuya’s nose and making him feel uneasy. He knew the smell, he could recognize it anywhere; when people reached the terminal stages of what had been dubbed the Ambrosia Syndrome, their skin would begin to crystallize in some places, the flesh turning solid and fragile, giving the skin a pale pink haze and a very distinctive smell.

Shaking his painful memories away from his mind, Katsuya focused on the present. Mrs Yamada was sitting near the bed where a skeletal figure laid, presumably Tobio Yamada. Even though Ambrosia Syndrome was known to cause tremendous pain, the man laid perfectly still, his body not betraying a single sign of discomfort. Katsuya felt a shiver run down his spine as he understood why: the man was probably in the very last stage of the disease, where his muscles were so atrophied he couldn’t even wiggle in pain, speak or even moan or whimper.

Ishizu was sitting next to the victim, her cerulean gaze assessing his state. For a second, Katsuya saw her eyes widening and her calm traits being deformed by a sudden shock – the vast majority of people wouldn’t have caught the shift in her expression, but Katsuya had grown familiar with the signs Ishizu was having a vision.

As if nothing had happened, the clairvoyant took Mr Yamada’s hands in her own, delicately pressing her palms against the bony back of his hands. She closed her eyes and started speaking in a hushed yet intense voice, her hands starting to glow golden as she recited incantations. No one in the room was able to keep their eyes away from her, and Ishizu kept working her magic for around ten minutes.

Finally, she let go of her patient’s hands, her own hands shaking a bit. Katsuya was quick to rush to her side; he knew Ishizu never went past her limits, but he was still a bit worried.

“The lesions on your body should regress a bit.” the magician informed the couple as she got up. “It should relieve some of your pain… I’m sorry, there isn’t much more I can do.”

Katsuya’s heart sank a bit. There was no known cure for Ambrosia Syndrome, and as powerful as Ishizu’s healing magic was, even she could only delay the inevitable. Still, being able to relieve some of the sufferers’ intense pains was a considerable feat, and Mrs Yamada sank to her knees, gazing at Ishizu as reverently as if she were a goddess.

“Thank you, thank you so much!” she sobbed openly, gratitude and relief pouring from her eyes. “I-I can’t even begin to- thank you!”

Katsuya and Ishizu began to feel tears filling their eyes as well, but they managed to keep their composure for the sake of their client.

“Here!” Mrs Yamada searched through her apron’s pocket until she pulled some coins out. “I know, it’s not what we agreed on, but I-I promise I will pay the rest la-”  
“There’s no need for that.” Ishizu refused as she helped the woman to get up. “You and your husband need this money far more than I do.”  
“B-but-”  
“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your payment.” the clairvoyant shook her head once more, her tone compassionate but firm. “My price will only be your silence.”  
“Of course!” Mrs Yamada nodded frantically, her face still a mess of tears, snot and red splotches. “You were never here and I never saw you! But I can’t repay you enough-”  
“You will.” Katsuya interrupted. He understood the woman’s reaction, but he wanted them out of the decrepit house as soon as possible, no matter how selfish it made him feel. “By keeping silent about what happened this afternoon.”

The blonde’s voice had the tiniest hint of threat laced in it, which was enough to make the woman fall silent and simply nod as she slipped Katsuya’s now wet tissue in his hand. Katsuya was a bit disgusted, but it had been made by Shizuka, so he pocked it and made a mental note to wash it later.

When they reached the house’s door, Katsuya stepped outside first to make sure the alley was empty. Thankfully, there was no one in sight, so he signaled Ishizu to come and she followed him.  
For a little while, they marched in silence, both still haunted by the intense misery and anguish they’d just witnessed. Even though Ishizu was confronted to human suffering every day, it was – thankfully – rarely on such a scale, and she had a bit of trouble to push her visit out of her mind.

“You had a vision, didn’t you? Back there.”

The magician couldn’t help but be surprised by the blonde’s question. Jounouchi rarely inquired about her abilities: he wasn’t weirded out by her powers, but he was afraid to be too intrusive. However, the sight of the terminally ill man on his bed, trapped in his body and not even able to scream in pain, had brought back awful memories, the ghost of his mother clawing at his heart with cold, unforgiving talons.  
Ishizu sighed. She had received a vision, yes, but she wasn’t really sure if she should tell Katsuya about it. She knew he needed comfort, but she didn’t want to lie to him either, and in the end decided to tell him the truth.

“Yes, I did.” She whispered, casting quick glances to make sure no one was listening to them. “I saw… intense suffering, mixed with relief and heartbreak.”

Ishizu’s visions weren’t a clear, precise scene of what was going to happen to someone; they were made of emotions, of brief images, of thoughts and words, and she had to give them a cohesive meaning. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Katsuya bow his head a little, long blonde strands covering his eyes.

“He’s not going to make it, huh?”  
“I’m afraid he won’t. I’m… I’m not even sure I bought him time. I could only relieve some of his pain.”  
“That’s already a lot, you know.” Katsuya was quick to respond, his fiery, slightly misty gaze suddenly darted on her. “Given what this bitch of a plague does to people… it’s… it’s considerable.”

Ishizu’s heart sank when Katsuya’s voice faltered a little at the end of his sentence, and her hand found the blonde’s.

“Jounouchi, I’m sorry for asking you to come with me. I should have-”  
“No, don’t say it.” Katsuya’s hand tightened around Ishizu’s. “I was the only one available to escort you, and you going on a visit on your own is out of the question.”

Ishizu couldn’t argue with that. Witches, magicians and occultists were disappearing left and right, never to be seen again, and no one knew why. Plenty of people had their ideas, but nothing was certain, and no culprit had ever been found. Until a few years before, it had been a rare occurrence, but lately, the number of vanishing magic practitioners was worrying, to the point almost every person who was able to cast the smallest of spells became completely paranoid and publicly ceased their practice.

Only a few magicians still practiced their art, and they operated in secret. As far as they knew, every client was a potential danger, and they always made sure to be protected during their practice. Ishizu’s older brother Rishid usually acted as her bodyguard, but he had been allowed to see their youngest sibling after months of asking the royal advisor for a meeting, so Mai had asked Jounouchi to fill in for him. Although he wasn’t even eighteen yet, the blonde was one of the most competent fighters the innkeeper knew, and it was with absolute confidence that she and her fiancée entrusted him with Ishizu’s safety.

“Thank you for today, Jounouchi.” the clairvoyant smiled when they reached the Harpie’s Den. “I owe you.”  
“You don’t.” Katsuya smiled back, doing his best to push his memories of the afternoon aside. “You and Mai gave me and Shizuka a roof when we didn’t have one, and I can’t ever repay you for that.”

Before Ishizu could reply, Jounouchi give her a courteous bow and all but ran inside the inn, dashing towards the kitchen to start preparing the evening’s dinner. When he was out of sight, Ishizu released a heavy sigh.  
At only seventeen, Katsuya Jounouchi had endured a lot of hardships, far more than someone his age should have. And if she trusted the visions she kept having when watching him from afar, many more trials awaited him.

* * *

Prince Seto was beyond annoyed, and just short of being angered. Not only had he been interrupted in the middle of his archery practice, which was one of the only moments where he was allowed to be alone and unwind, but on top of that the reason he had been interrupted was that his father requested his presence.

Seto _despised_ King Gozaburo with every fiber of his body. With what they knew about the king, the people of Aeternia already didn’t have the best opinion of their ruler, but no one in the kingdom truly knew how vicious and rotten Gozaburo was. The only person who mattered in his eyes was himself, and he seemed to be on an endless, bloody quest to gain more and more power. Under his reign, Aeternia had waged war on various neighboring, smaller kingdoms and principalities and had annexed them at the price of some casualties on their side and countless losses on the vanquished opponents’ side.

Gozaburo liked to cultivate his image of a proud, benevolent and victorious warrior, and even though the kingdom’s denizens knew that their king was far more power-hungry than he wanted them to believe, they had no idea of how monstrous their ruler truly was. He didn’t show any mercy to anyone in the kingdom, not even his own children.  
Seto’s back, disfigured by countless, angry red welts, was only one of many proofs of his father’s cruelness.

Needless to say, Seto was more than unhappy when he stepped in the palace’s grand throne room. However, his reluctance was joined by surprise when he noticed there weren’t any guards in the room: his father usually had at least twenty men lining the room’s marble walls, to protect him from any assassination attempt (which Seto regretted). It was a bit unusual to see the king on his own, sitting on his throne, exuding confidence and dominance.  
It made the brunette want to throw up.

When he reached his father’s throne, Seto gave an overly polite, phony bow. Even though he was his eldest son, the royal etiquette required him to kneel down and keep his head bowed until Gozaburo allowed him to stand up; but a year ago, Seto had promised himself he’d _never_ bow down to his father ever again, even though it occasionally earned him a powerful punch in the throat, courtesy of a surprise attack by one of Gozaburo’s assassins that the king sometimes asked to hide in the throne room when he was speaking with his son.

“You requested to see me, father?” Seto asked, his icy blue stare never leaving the monster sitting in front of him.  
“Indeed, Seto. I have extremely important matters to discuss with you.”

The prince tensed up. The last time Gozaburo had started a conversation with these words, he had spoken of giving Mokuba’s hand in marriage to some disgusting old prince in a kingdom Gozaburo hadn't declared war to yet.

“You see, I have been thinking a lot lately. About you, about my kingdom’s future, about what I need to do, as a king, for the greater good.”

Seto had absolutely no idea where his father was heading, which made him even more on edge. Gozaburo’s unpredictability was one of his more terrifying traits. The king noticed the way his son flinched, and a mocking smile crept on his face.

“Don’t look so scared, Seto. After all, the conclusion I reached with all those considerations should have you rejoice.”  
“I doubt that.” the prince curtly answered. What made the king happy usually made other people miserable, and Gozaburo was looking _extremely_ happy.  
“I can’t help but be a bit disappointed that you’re not trusting me, but alas, it’s the way you’ve always been, when all I’ve ever wanted was to make you my worthy successor.”

A tense silence fell on the grand room, until the king broke it as his smirk grew even wider:

“In a month, the whole kingdom of Aeternia will celebrate your eighteenth birthday. It is an extremely important date, after all, the day their beloved prince finally reaches adulthood. Which is why I’ve decided to hold a magnificent ball on the evening of the 24th of October, a festivity up to the occasion’s importance.”

Another long moment of silence ensued, and it seemed like the king was done talking. But Seto knew Gozaburo was far from done, and that he was only waiting for the prince’s reaction to continue. Seto was perfectly aware of what his father wanted him to say, but he waited for a while to finally say it. He would have enjoyed making the patriarch wait far longer, but Seto was too anxious about his father’s machinations and wanted to put an end to the unbearable suspense.

“My birthday is on October 25.” he sighed, hating that he was acting just the way Gozaburo wanted him to.  
“I know, Seto. Which is why I chose that day to hold a celebration even bigger than your birthday ball: the coronation of Aeternia’s new king.”

Seto’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help the gasp that left his body. For a moment, time stood still, and the prince couldn’t bring himself to believe he’d heard those words correctly.

“Are you saying-”  
“That on October 25th, you, Prince Seto of the Kaiba dynasty, will become the twelfth monarch of Aeternia.” Gozaburo cut his son, satisfied at having reduced him to a shocked, baffled mess.

The brunette’s mind was racing with countless questions about his father’s decision, about whether this was a test, or if there would be conditions to his crowning. In the end, his eyes watching out for the tiniest shifts in Gozaburo’s body language, Seto carefully asked:

“Why would you do that? You’re still perfectly able to govern.” The prince wanted to add “although terribly” at the end of his sentence, but he abstained from doing so. Now wasn’t the time to clash with his father, but to get to the bottom of the very bizarre situation.  
“I’m not as healthy as you think, Seto.” the king sighed dramatically, before getting up from his throne.

Seto’s white and azure silks shifted lightly when his father moved; after all those years enduring the daily torture Gozaburo had the audacity to call his education, his body was trained to be ready to defend himself against his father’s violence at the slightest possibility of confrontation. Ignoring his son’s reaction, the older man rolled up the left sleeve of his heavy, decadently expensive burgundy robe, and Seto found himself disgusted by the sight.

The king’s entire forearm seemed to be oozing with dark, almost tar-like pus, and pulsating red lines coursed through the foul substance. Here and there, some necrotic skin showed under the pus, and to complete the nauseating picture, Seto swore he could even see some muscle peeking under what was left of the epidermis.

“This is incurable.” Gozaburo simply stated as he rolled the sleeve down, hiding the macabre spectacle. “All of the royal doctors and all of the court mages have been trying to find a cure, but none of them have succeeded, and it keeps spreading. So I’d rather crown you and have the populace remember me as a feared, proud warrior than be removed from the throne as a decaying cripple.”

It made sense, Seto admitted. His father had such a high, distorted opinion of himself, he wasn’t surprised of Gozaburo’s decision. Still, something about this situation was bothering him. He couldn’t exactly put his finger on what, but his instincts kept telling him to stay vigilant, even more so than usual. Seto wasn’t the kind of person who easily trusted his instincts, preferring to rationally analyze things and listen to his brain rather than to his gut, but the whole affair seemed far too suspicious to simply dismiss his unease.

“Very well, then.” Seto gave a small bow, ready to take his leave and retire in his chambers to fully process the king’s announcement.

For a second, the prince was certain his father would stop him and make some remark about not showing enough enthusiasm at the perspective of his upcoming coronation. But Gozaburo defied his son’s expectations, and simply let Seto leave the throne room without another word, his dark eyes never leaving his son’s figure.

* * *

The palace’s giant central clock tower began to ring as midnight struck. Synchronizing the sound of his steps with the twelve chimes, Mokuba dashed across the corridor. He knew the guards’ schedule by heart; they had a shift change at midnight exactly, which left him with a window of sixty seconds to cross the corridor, unlock the massive door that led to the castle’s deepest basement, and lock it again behind him.

At first, the timing had been tricky, and the boy had been forced to use diversion techniques to make his way to one of the palace’s best kept secrets. But Mokuba had quickly understood that he couldn’t eternally use such stratagems, as he risked attracting far more attention than necessary. So, applying his older brother’s teachings, Mokuba had spent an entire month mapping the area, all of its nook and crannies, learning by heart each and every detail about the guards assigned there as well as their schedule, minute by minute.

The payoff had been worth the effort: the young prince was now able to enter the room every night, and he had been doing so for the past four years without ever getting caught. Mokuba hated thinking about the potential consequences of his nightly trespassing – if Seto would give him a dreadful scolding for meeting up with Ryou in secret, he was sure to lock up Mokuba in his room until he was eighteen if he were to discover what his little brother did every night. As for Gozaburo’s reaction, Mokuba didn’t even want to begin to think about it.

As usual, the smooth, keyhole-less padlock on the door clicked open when Mokuba pressed his hand against it. He had no idea why the strange, shiny metal responded to him; it just knew it worked. Since the first chime had rung, the prince had been counting down from sixty in his head, and he reached three right as he closed the door behind him, sighing in relief once he found himself in the darkness of the hidden corridor.

Casting a small ball of light from his palm to guide him, Mokuba trotted down the long spiral staircase, making sure not to slip on the old, humid stones but still keeping a quick pace. He had to be at the top of the staircase before 2 am – the next change of guard – and wanted to make the most of his time there.

Finally, the boy reached a lone door at the bottom of the stairs. Moss was starting to grow on its wooden surface, and its metal cadre was rusty; only the door’s handle seemed preserved from the passage of time, which wasn’t surprising given Mokuba put his hand on it every night.  
The young prince stepped inside the large room, a smile blossoming on his face as he made his way to the center of the circular chamber , where laid one of Gozaburo’s most important secrets.

A giant turquoise crystal stood in the middle of the room, looking as if it had burst from the ground and made its way to the ceiling. It was surrounded with various other shards and crystals of varying sizes and shades of turquoise, all of them surrounding the largest crystal as a protective barrier. At the edges of the curious arrangement, countless tiny shards were shattered on the ground, their amethyst and onyx nuances shining under the soft light pulsing from the main crystal.

Humming a little tune, Mokuba walked until he was inches away from the biggest crystal and from what was trapped inside.

The formation’s translucent surface allowed the young prince to see someone beneath it, another boy who looked his age. His eyes were closed, and he looked peaceful, as if he was merely sleeping, a small smile eternally resting on his youthful face.

Mokuba’s smile mirrored the other boy’s as the prince brought his hands to the luminous surface, his fingers immediately starting to send golden ripples across the cold turquoise surface. As he kept applying magic waves to the crystal, Mokuba hoped that for once, the boy’s eyes would open; but they never did, and tonight was no exception.

However, the prince suddenly felt a cold shiver run down his body, which made him immediately spin around and happily wave at the spectral form that had appeared behind him:

“Hi Noa!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohoho, only the first chapter, and already a few mysteries to solve!  
> What did you think of it? Don't hesitate to leave a review, kudos or bookmark! I treasure every feedback I get <3  
> Next update will be in a week! And it'll introduce a few other characters, friendly and less friendly faces will pop up :D  
> If you're interested about knowing more about this chapter, you can go to my blog right here! https://maple-princess.blogspot.com/2020/09/cendrillon-chapter-1-few-notes.html


	3. Second strike ~ Vanishing act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome back, or if you're new, welcome :)
> 
> I decided to change my schedule a bit, so new chapters won't come out on Fridays anymore but on Saturdays.  
> I would like to thank my beta reader Jan for her feedback on this story!! She's an amazing person and artist, check her work out on insta (heavycruisers)!! 
> 
> This chapter will introduce a few new characters I'm happy to include in the story ~  
> Enjoy this chapter :)

_The Empress has offered him to attend her monthly ball, and he has accepted. Given how he despises balls, parties and other social gatherings and avoids them as much as he can, preferring the quiet solitude of the Fortress’ library or of the Imperial Gardens, it’s quite the commotion when people spot him, and he has to pretend he’s interested in what the other partygoers have to tell him, when really, he’s accepted the invite for one reason and one reason only._

_Said reason is currently standing at the back of the Great Court, his back resting against the marble wall and his body obviously tense. For once, he’s made himself somewhat presentable, having combed his thick, unruly auburn air in a braid that stops right beneath his shoulder blades. He’s replaced his usual short tunic by an evening attire that manages to make him appear elegant in spite of the white fabric’s simplicity, and he’s even put a few pieces of jewelry on, three golden rings elegantly circling his left fwrist and a ruby pendant resting against his torso._

_He manages to startle his copper-haired friend, even though he’s made no effort to approach him discreetly: the other man is simply that lost in his thoughts._

_“What are you doing all alone, when there’s so much people to talk to?”  
_ _“I… uh, I don’t think they’d necessarily enjoy talking with me.” The auburn man shrugs, quickly regaining his composure. “I don’t think all these fancy people would care much about the kind of things I like talking about.”  
_ _“It’s true, they probably wouldn’t.” the other’s bright chartreuse eyes lose a bit of their spark when he agrees. “But I care, and I’m here now.”_

_The redhead smiles, and for a moment, time stops and there’s only the two of them. He can’t help but feel his heart beat a little faster, the other’s radiant grin warming his soul and reminding him of why he agreed to attend such a boring party._

_“May I have this dance?”_

_It’s abrupt, and he knows it, but he’s afraid that if he doesn’t ask right now, he won’t have any other chance to. They’ll slip into their usual chatter and banter, as if they were on the training grounds and not in the middle of a prestigious ball.  
_ _Chartreuse eyes blink in confusion, and the skin beneath them blushes a little._

_“I’ve never been taught.” he admits with an awkward chuckle.  
_ _“That’s fine, it’s not that hard. I can teach you, if you want.”_

_He extends a hand, and after a fleeting moment of hesitation, the other answers his invitation. Their fingers intertwine, and they confidently march towards some of the other guests that have already started dancing.  
_ _His ribcage feels like it could explode when the redhead awkwardly stands in front of him and presses his body impossibly close to his own. Nevertheless, praying that his body doesn’t betray the emotional chaos raging in his heart, he starts guiding the auburn youth, and they lose themselves in the rhythm of their synchronized heartbeats._

The light peeking through the curtains of his room’s large windows became too strong, and Seto was left with no other choice than begrudgingly opening his eyes. The prince had never been one to enjoy lounging in bed – not that he would have been allowed to anyways – but lately, he had been visited by a mysterious and alluring stranger almost nightly. The dreams and their setting greatly varied from one night to another, but the redhead was always there, a reassuring and pleasing constant Seto hated to admit he had started to look forward to.

Ever since Mokuba and him had stated to live in Gozaburo’s palace, Seto’s sleep had been plagued with nightmares. From the moment Gozaburo had introduced him as his son, the young prince had been submitted to a harsh training, pushing his mind and his body far beyond their limits. The brunette had had no choice but to accept and endure it, and to do so with a stoic, impassive attitude. He guessed that was why his nights were nothing but horrifying visuals of decaying bodies, of war-torn cities, of losing his beloved brother in gruesome ways.

But around four years ago, it had started to change. A copper-haired man had started to show up in his nightmares, and when the stranger appeared, the scenery always morphed into something more peaceful. The dreams felt more vivid, but they also left him more relaxed in the morning, and every night as he slipped under his silken bedsheets, the prince was almost looking forwards to meeting the always cheerful visitor.

The only thing that bothered him was that during those dreams, Seto felt like he had no control over his body. It was as if he was in a lucid dream, being extremely aware of everything happening around him and knowing it was nothing more than a nightly delusion, yet Seto found himself unable to move his body the way he wanted or speak the way he intended.

Conjuring the visitor in his mind one last time, focusing on the stranger’s beautiful chartreuse eyes that seemed to contain a whole universe, Seto sighed and got up from his bed. He had a long day awaiting him: with his coronation day drawing near, Gozaburo had insisted Seto trained even more than usual, adding bare-handed combat lessons to his already heavy schedule.

The prince wasn’t surprised his father hadn’t deemed necessary to impose him more geopolitical or strategy lectures. Seto had always been an eager learner with an impressive memory, and from a very young age, he’d known how to read people and manipulate them, to get what he wanted out of whoever he wanted without, most of the time, having to resort to threats or intimidation. He’d been ready to take Gozaburo’s place on Aeternia’s throne for years, and he was elated to _finally_ be allowed to do so.

It wasn’t that the prince craved power – not the way the current king did, at least. Seto had no intention of carrying on with Gozaburo’s incessant wars: the brunette thought Aeternia had far more resources than necessary, and he was convinced that waging wars would be nothing but counterproductive. What the kingdom needed was alliances and treaties, to build strong relations with its neighbors and mend the ties Gozaburo had severed with historic allies.

The prince sighed and massaged his temples as he made his way to his chambers’ baths. The already long list of the mistakes the current king had made that he would need to fix kept growing every day, and he although he was confident in his abilities to correct every single one of them, Seto also wished he could start on his own projects for the kingdom as soon as possible.

The brunette sighed with delight as he stepped inside the large bathtub his maids had filled with steaming hot water. The water’s scorching temperature helped his overworked muscles to relax a bit before he had to take on another long, exhausting day.

* * *

“HELP!! PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME!!”

The despaired screams dragged Katsuya out of the heavy torpor that had started to take over his body as he had left the Harpie’s Den. Blinking several times to push his fatigue away, the blonde started running towards the source of the noise. The horrified cries came from a nearby alleyway, and when Katsuya entered the narrow alley, his eyes widened in shock as adrenaline shot through his veins.

A young girl who couldn’t be older than Shizuka was shivering and struggling to stand up, her arms shaking as she kept spinning and held a piece of wood in front of her, as if the worm-eaten makeshift weapon could protect her from anything or anyone. Shadowy figures were surrounding her, their wobbling forms incessantly moving and changing shapes as they drew closer and closer, the tight circle they formed around the poor victim narrowing more and more with each passing second.

Katsuya shook his initial fear and surprise away, the girl’s screams ringing in his ears as he grabbed a metal pipe lying on the ground and rushed towards the eerie creatures with a loud growl. As he expected, the herd of shadows turned towards him, their countless scarlet eyes gleaming and their sharp claws suddenly pointed at him.

“TAKE THAT!” the blonde roared, swinging his improvised weapon at the creatures that had started to melt together in an amorphous shape.

He didn’t expect his attack to land, thinking the shadows would avoid it easily, but his assault was successful. The vile creatures – or rather, creature – hissed when the pipe collided with it, and Katsuya couldn’t help but grin. However, his victory was short lived: smokey tendrils started to shoot from the monstrous amalgamation, reaching for him, wrapping around his limbs, trying to strangle him. The blonde’s heart started racing, panic taking hold of him; but he kept fighting, even with his movements restricted and his airways constricted.

“NOOO!! PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP!!” the girl near him shouted, running towards their shapeless enemy and hitting it as hard as she could with her flimsy baton.

The creature pulsed with crimson energy and shot tendrils towards her as well, trapping her in its deathly embrace.

“Nnn-nnh…”

Katsuya’s vision started going black at the edges, and he was on the verge of losing consciousness. His weapon had fallen to the ground, and his limbs were now fully encased in the grotesque shadowy pile.

However, the teen had one last trick up his sleeve, one he loathed using unless he had absolutely no other choice. Letting his eyes shut close, focusing what little brainpower he had left on the burning sensation that had started to grow between his shoulder blades and at the tips of his hands, Katsuya let the familiar flow of energy build up and flood his body, sending almost unbearable, searing jots of electricity down every nerve.

“GYAAAAH!”

The dark matter that had started to coagulate around Katsuya’s limbs was reduced to nothing more than a pile of molten, dark goop, and the teen managed to extract himself from the creature’s now weaker embrace. He quickly assessed the situation: the girl he had tried to rescue was now starting to be entangled in the monster’s suffocating hold, and his own head felt like it could explode any second.

Katsuya didn’t have much time, and so he decided to make the most of it. Dashing towards the girl who had started to drown in the somber substance, the teen attacked the shadows with his bare hands, adrenaline and rage fueling him as he kept clawing viciously at the dark matter, tearing it apart, sending chunks flying and burning as they reached the floor. Katsuya couldn’t hear anything but the sound of his own erratic breathing and of his heartbeat thumping in his temples.

Just as he felt like he was going to push his body beyond the point of no return, screams erupted in the alleyway: people had finally been alerted by the girl’s cries and Katsuya’s ferocious howls. From the corner of his eyes, the blonde made sure the five or so men that had came to their rescue were armed, and he took that as his cue to leave.

Ignoring the men’s questions and the girl’s pleas for him to wait, Katsuya pulled his cape’s hood down as far as he could and then dashed past the small group that had come to help. He didn't want to be thanked or recognized; as far as people knew, Katsuya Jounouchi didn’t have the smallest abilities to use magic, and he intended for it to stay that way.

He wasn’t even sure that what happened when he focused and fully embraced the strange rage that roared inside of him when someone was in danger could qualify as magic, but he didn’t want to take any risks. Either he would be treated like a monster, and banished from the kingdom or outright killed, or he’d attract the attention of the unknown abductors who targeted spellcasters.  
None of those options were particularly attractive, to say the least.

Ignoring the countless cramps and aches that had begun to assault his entire being as the strange changes in his body dissipated, Katsuya made sure to take the long way home, navigating expertly between the houses, jumping above walls in dead ends, going backwards before heading to the right destination with another path. He knew the city like the back of his hand, and he intended to confuse anyone who would have tried to follow him.

Katsuya tried to distract himself from the almost unbearable aches by thinking back on the night’s earlier events. The shadows that had attacked the poor girl were yet another mystery that had popped up recently. No one had ever seen them before, and no one seemed able to explain where they came from or what their true intentions were. The only things that were certain about them was that they could fuse together, that they tended to only come out at night and that they assaulted lone humans. They seemed to be vulnerable to traditional weapons such as swords, but they appeared to be growing stronger every day, and they were the reason people had stopped wandering the streets at night, unless they were moving in groups.

After what felt like an eternity, Katsuya finally found himself in front of his house, barely conscious enough to open the door and let it shut close behind him before collapsing to the ground. 

* * *

“You… you can’t be serious.”  
“I promise I am! Seto told me himself before Gozaburo made an official announcement. He’s going to be crowned on his birthday!”  
“I still have trouble believing it.”

His ethereal form hovering close to Mokuba, Noa raised his eyes towards the ceiling, as he always did when he was lost in his thoughts.  
Having been raised by Gozaburo, Noa had a hard time accepting that the king would willingly step down from the throne and crown the next monarch himself. Sure, from what Mokuba had told him, Aeternia’s ruler had contracted a fatal and incurable disease; but even then, Noa was convinced Gozaburo would have waited until at least half of his body was rotting away before abdicating.

“I know, I also find it suspicious, and so does Seto.” the young prince nodded as Noa focused on him again. “But I know my big brother, he won’t let his guard down until he’s got the crown on his head and he’s sitting in _his_ throne!”

Mokuba’s excited smile immediately faltered when he saw a fleeting shadow in the other boy’s pale eyes. Remorse immediately started clawing at his heart, and Mokuba got up, closer to Noa.

“I’m sorry, that was insensitive of me.” he apologized, an expression of genuine regret on his youthful traits. “I shouldn’t have said… um, I-”  
“It’s okay, Mokuba.” Noa did his best to smile, although he didn’t really succeed. He hated seeing the cheerful prince look so guilty. “Seto is the rightful heir to the throne. He has been for eight years.”

The raven-haired boy’s hands reached for Noa’s. As always, they slipped right through it; but for a moment, the two of them pretended that they could touch each other, that they could truly feel the other’s reassuring presence.

“But… It’s not fair. I mean, I’m very happy for Seto, you know? He’s my big brother, and I love him more than anything! But-”  
“Mokuba.” Noa cut him, his ghostly hands gently moving so he could pretend to settle them on the prince’s shoulders. “This is Gozaburo’s domain. Nothing is fair, not for you, not for me, and especially not for Seto. And… your brother and I might have had our… disagreements, but if him becoming king means freeing Aeternia from our father, then it’s alright.”

Mokuba nodded solemnly in approval. After a moment, he decided to disperse the heavy mood by announcing other news of utmost importance to his friend.

“I have something else to tell you, Noa.” the boy began to grin, and Noa couldn’t help but smile as well: the young prince’s enthusiasm was contagious, even for someone like him. “And trust me, it’s something that’s going to make you _really_ happy.”  
“Oh?” the other boy couldn’t help but be intrigued by Mokuba’s obvious excitement.  
“Mmh! You know how I’ve been training with Ryou, right?”  
“Yes, given how much you like to talk about him, I do know about that.” Noa gently quipped.  
“Well, I think I’m finally ready to show you what I’ve been asking him to teach me!”

Mokuba grinned wildly, and the ghostly boy was suddenly not sure he wanted to hear about what the prince had to announce him anymore. There was something wild in the other’s amethyst gaze, something fierce and almost chilling.

“He’s been teaching me how to channel spirits!”

For a moment, Noa was extremely confused by Mokuba’s proud tone - and then, it clicked. His eyes widening in surprise and in horror, his intangible body jerking away from the other boy, Noa breathed:

“You… you can’t be serious. You… you mean…”  
“Exactly!” Mokuba beamed as he stepped closer to Noa. “Now, I’m sure my body can host both my soul and yours!”  
“Mokuba, that’s…”

Various adjectives were ready to spill from Noa’s mouth, all of them true: incredible, stupid, amazing, tempting, nuts. But only one of them left the boy’s lips:

“…that’s dangerous! What if when my soul enters your body, it… overrides yours, or something?”  
“It won’t! Ryou taught me how to stay grounded in my body even if I allow someone else to share it.”  
“What if our souls meld into one?”  
“I don’t think that’s possible, and even then, Ryou will help us!”  
“What if I take over your body and don’t allow you to take back control?”

Noa gasped as he stopped speaking. He has almost shouted his last question, bitterness and venom dripping from every word, betraying the resent that still pulsed in his soul. His ethereal hands shot in front of his face, horror and disgust at himself clear on his features.  
But Mokuba didn’t recoil, didn’t frown. He simply kept smiling, although his smile was much gentler and less wild than before.

“You won’t. I’m certain of it.”  
“What makes you so sure of that?” Noa hissed, his eyes adverting the prince’s. If he still had a body, it would be shaking, he knew it.  
“Because I trust you.” Mokuba’s answer was disarming in its simplicity, his voice was soft and his tone genuine, and it made Noa hurt.  
“Why?” he kept going, his ghostly form jerking away from the young prince when he reached towards him. “ _Why_ do you trust me?”  
“I’ve been coming here to see you since I was nine. I think I have a fairly good idea of who you are.”  
“You don’t!” Noa protested, almost screaming, not knowing if he was mad at himself or at the boy. “You- I- you have no idea what I’m capable of! What I used to do when I was still first in the succession order! What I almost did to you and Seto!”  
“I _know_ about it, Noa!” Mokuba countered, and the ferociously kind determination in his voice caught Noa off-guard. “I’m… I’m not as smart as my brother, but I’m not an idiot. Back then, _yes_ , I had no idea you were trying to pit me against Seto, and I thought you were just being nice to me!”

Noa couldn’t keep looking Mokuba in the eyes, not when all the memories came flooding back.  
Memories of a boy two years younger than him that his father had one day brutally introduced as his new brother, memories of a boy even younger who wouldn’t let go of his elder’s hand until his father gave him a slap on the face and sent him crashing to the ground.  
Memories of pure, wild hatred against his younger rival, of almost irrational enmity towards the brunette boy who seemed to regard him with nothing but disdain.  
Memories of intense jealousy for the unbreakable bond between the two siblings, of abhorrent envy at the fact that they had each other when he didn’t have anyone.  
Memories of perverse kindness to the youngest Kaiba heir, of pretending to be his friend, of creating mischief with the sole purpose of having the “brother” he hated so much punished again and again so he could steal what little time the two younger boys were allowed to spend together.

“I’ve known all about it for a while now.” Mokuba spoke again, his voice shaking a bit with emotion. His hands reached for Noa’s, even if he knew they wouldn’t find anything but slightly cold air. “And I’ve forgiven you.”

Noa turned his head towards the boy he wanted so badly to call his brother but felt like he lost that right years ago. Mokuba’s eyes were shining with tears he fought to contain, and if Noa had corporeal eyes, he knew they would be equally misty.

“Please, Noa. Let me help you give you another chance.” Mokuba tried again, and this time Noa moved his hands so their glowing shape was right against the prince’s fingers. “I don’t know how to free your body yet, but we’ll figure it out together, and in the meantime, you can borrow mine.”

Tears were now dripping down Mokuba’s face, all the way to his wobbly smile. Feeling his own smile waver a little, Noa’s head leaned forwards and his eyes shut close. Even though he couldn’t see Mokuba, nor could he feel him, Noa sensed the young prince’s head had moved as well and that if he was in a real body, their foreheads would be resting against each other.

“Alright.” the older boy sighed, phantom tears falling down his ethereal cheeks. “I trust you, Mokuba.”  
“I trust you, Noa.”

* * *

With a barely stifled yawn, Katsuya left the house and started to make his way towards the Harpie’s Den. He had thankfully been able to catch some sleep in the afternoon, but he wouldn’t have refused to stay in bed a bit more. Still, he had to be in the kitchen at 6 pm, and he’d probably be there until 2 am – through these tough times, and even with the threat of being assaulted by vicious shadows at night, the people of Aeternia sought to forget about their woes, be it by enjoying the company of their friends in a warm inn or by drowning their sorrows in frothy pints. It was good for the business, and Mai had even given him a raise a few days before; but it also meant working more, and most importantly, leaving Shizuka alone at night.

He wasn’t worried that she’d be attacked by shadows: Ishizu had protected their house with a powerful ward able to repulse malignant entities. Katsuya was more afraid that she’d find herself the victim of a house robbery. The blonde had made sure to give her a basic training in self-defense, and he had even bought her a bracelet that cleverly concealed tiny but lethal blades. The piece of jewelry never left her, and even though Katsuya feared it wouldn’t be enough to protect his beloved sister should she find herself in deep trouble, it gave them both a sense of security.

As he walked towards the Den, Katsuya noticed a lot of passersby were speaking in hushed tones and sharing looks of shock and sadness. He also noticed some people trotting inside their homes and loudly locking their doors, which puzzled him even more. If something huge had happened, then the noise would surely have woken him up, or at least, Shizuka would have heard something, right? The teen hesitated to ask someone about what was going on but decided against it. Mai always managed to get her hands on all sorts of information at an impressive speed, and if something big had indeed happened, she was sure to know about it.

“I’m back, Mai!” the blonde roared as he entered the inn. “So, what’s all-”

The end of his question died in his throat, strangled by the sudden tension coursing through Katsuya’s entire body and by the bile starting to climb up his esophagus.

A man with strong shoulders and a worn, dark leather coat was slumped over the counter, several empty glasses scattered around him. His face was lying against the wooden surface, but Katsuya didn’t need to see his arrogant and rough features to recognize the patron. His eyes immediately darted to his employer, who was standing behind the counter and looking at her client with an expression between annoyance and pity.

“Hey, Mai!” the blonde couldn’t help but spit, his blood pressure rising and making his ears buzz painfully. “Want me to take out the trash?”  
“No, not tonight, Jounouchi.”

The inn keeper’s words barely reached the teen, and he was practically trembling with anger as he made his way to the counter. For a moment, Mai looked like she wanted to reprimand him, but when she saw the look of pure fury in the young cook’s eyes, she decided to quickly walk around the counter in case of a fight.

“What are you doing here, Keith?!” Katsuya seethed, stopping right before he knocked into the man’s stool.  
“Tch… long time no see, blondie. Though I expected a warmer welcome.”

In a clearly painful motion, Keith lifted his head and neck from where they had been resting and managed to grin mockingly at Katsuya, his teeth arrogantly flashing white under his bloodshot eyes. The older man looked just the way the teen remembered him, although he had gained a scar across his left cheek since the last time he’d seen him.

“A warmer welcome? You’re lucky I didn’t punch you before I even spoke!” his shaking fists reached out for the patron.  
“Jounouchi, that’s enough.” Mai warned as she grabbed Katsuya’s hands before they could reach their target, knowing the telltale signs of her protégé’s anger reaching the point of no return.  
“Why are you protecting him?!” Katsuya barked, although he didn’t try to break free from the innkeeper’s hold. “Why did you even allow him here, huh?!”

His calculating but tired eyes still fixated on the teen, Keith rubbed his temples. Katsuya’s shouting did nothing to help his budding migraine, although he guessed the migraine was still an acceptable alternative to the blonde’s fists.

“Because there are circumstances where you have to show mercy, even to your worst enemy.”  
“Mercy?!” Katsuya saw red, and jerked his hands away from Mai’s. The former bandit was strong, but not enough to hold Katsuya down, not when he started to lose control like this. “Did you show mercy on Shizuka when you almost-”  
“You’re still stuck on that?” Keith sighed as he got up, his legs trembling slightly as he steadied himself. “Fucking hell, blondie, it’s been what, three years? Besides, it was your mess of a father’s fault for not paying what he owed me. Not my fault people are ready to pay a lot for a pretty little thing like Shi-”  
“KEEP MY SISTER’S NAME OUT OF YOUR DISGUSTING MOUTH!” Katsuya screamed as he grabbed the lapels of Keith’s coat and brutally thrust the older man’s upper body against the counter, sending the empty glasses to shatter on the floor. “Don’t you dare- _GYAAAAHH_!”

Purple electric sparks shot from Mai’s hands and rippled across Katsuya’s body, and the teen collapsed to the ground, frozen in pain. His breath short, and blood starting to drip from the back of his head, Keith managed to steady himself and hold himself up.

“I said, _that’s enough_.” the innkeeper harshly repeated as she helped her employee back on his feet. “Do you think you’re the only one holding a grudge against this lowlife?”  
“I’m right here, y’know?” Keith groaned as he grabbed a half-finished pint that had, miraculously, not crashed on the floor, and downed its contents in a single sip.  
“Oh, believe me, I know. Even if I hadn’t personally served you those beers, the stench would have been enough.”  
“Thanks, honey. Still got that smart mouth runnin’, huh? Don’t ever change.” Keith’s laugh resembled a bark.

Mai rolled her eyes, and she helped Katsuya sit down as it was clear he was still in too much pain to be able to stand up on his own. She hated having no choice but using the sigils Ishizu had infused with her powers as a weapon against a friend, but Mai knew just how bad things could get when Jounouchi was _really_ enraged. It had been a while since she’d last spectated it, and she could have done without seeing it for another long while, but she understood that finding himself face to face with Keith without prior notice could have been very hard on the blonde.

“Alright, if any of you try to start another fight, it’s not going to end well. I’ll fire _you_ ,” she pointed to a still dizzy Katsuya, “and maim _you_ so hard you won’t ever walk straight again.” she waved her index at Keith.  
“Is that still your idea of foreplay?”  
“She’s engaged, bastard.” Katsuya groaned.

There was a moment of silence, and Keith was the first to break it, although his cockiness seemed infused with a softer, more genuine tone.

“I heard so. To that Ishtar girl, right? Congrats.”  
“Thanks.” Mai’s tone was still cold, but she relaxed herself a little.  
“So, you two have really turned your life around, it seems. I mean, blondie’s still got a pretty short fuse, but you’re decent folk now.” He glanced around quickly, as if he hadn’t really looked at the inn’s main room before. “Nice place.”  
“What about you, then? Still living out of other people’s hard-earned money?” Katsuya quipped.  
“It wasn’t a problem to you before, back when _I_ was the one to feed you and the little sister you love soooo much.”

Katsuya lowered his eyes.

He _hated_ being remembered of the life he used to lead, back when they were living with their father. After Akari’s death, Rin Jounouchi seemed to lose any sense of kindness, empathy or reason, and he spent his days wasting money he didn’t have and getting drunk. Katsuya had quickly understood that he was the only one able to provide for himself and his sister, but no-one was willing to employ an eleven-year old, not even the Ambrosia fields owners.

And so the boy had developed his own ways to keep himself and his sister alive- and his father too, when he took what little food or money Katsuya had managed to steal or beg for. Katsuya’s talents for stealing hadn’t gone unnoticed, and back then, Keith Howard had appeared like a savior. He had offered him and Shizuka food, protection and shelter when they wanted to escape the drunken rage of their father. He’d bought the two of them clean clothes, made sure they were healthy, that Shizuka was taught how to sew and read. All Keith had asked for in exchange of his kindness had been that Katsuya join him and the group of bandits he led.

It had been a no brainer. Katsuya was a great thief, an even better brawler, and he was crafty and resourceful; with Keith and the rest of his gang’s tutelage, Katsuya had grown tougher, smarter, more agile and cunning. He had learned to forget about his morals, about what his cherished mother had always taught him, about the sad looks he would get from Shizuka when he came home with a limp in his step or a black eye.

And then, there had been the _incident_ , and Katsuya absolutely refused to dwell on that more than necessary.

“What are you even here for?” the blonde asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from the painful thoughts swirling in his mind. “If even Mai’s willing to allow you inside her property, must have been something big.”

For a fleeting moment, Katsuya swore he saw raw, primal rage flash in Keith’s eyes; but as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished into drunk, dull anger.

“Ryuu and Haga. They took them.”  
“What?” Katsuya frowned, confused. “What do you mean, _they_ took them?”  
“They were abducted.” Mai clarified, her voice soft and bitter.

The teen’s heart missed a beat. Haga, an herbalist, was insufferable and he avoided the kid as much as he could, but Ryuuzaki was around his sister’s age and they used to be friends, back when life was simple and Akari and Rin Jounouchi were still alive. The two siblings had always been fascinated by Ryuuzaki’s ability to speak with animals, and Katsuya had always offered him protection when others would try use the boy for his powers.  
The two of them had joined Keith’s gang a few months before, and although it had made Katsuya distance himself from Ryuuzaki, they remained on good terms.

“You… you mean…” the teen’s voice broke.  
“Finally reached your brain?” Keith spat, and Katsuya could tell his anger wasn’t directed at him. “The jackasses that are kidnappin’ spellcasters left and right TOOK THEM! And you wanna know what’s even worse, blondie?”

Keith didn’t wait for Katsuya’s answer – not that the teen would have been able to give one anyways, the brutal announcement having plunged him in a state of shock.

“The king’s on it! It’s HIS fault!” the gang leader roared, punctuating his accusation by violently bringing his fist down on the counter. “The bastard’s the one to blame!”  
“Keith…” Mai sighed. “I’ve already told you. They were going fast, you can’t be sure-”  
“I know Takaido’s ugly mug when I see it, Kujaku! Coward couldn’t even keep his hood in place!”

Katsuya’s eyes widened. He had thought Keith was blaming the king because he was inebriated and hated anyone directly or indirectly answering Gozaburo’s orders, but his accusations had apparently some basis. Takaido had been Keith’s righthand man once, but a few months before the incident between Katsuya and the older man, Takaido had left without so much as a “goodbye” and enrolled in the army. But even without a clear explanation, every member of Ketih’s crew had correctly guessed it had something to do with the former gang member’s gambling addiction and the enormous debts he had amassed because of it.

“You said yourself everything happened extremely fast.” Mai tried to reason the drunkard. “I don’t think-”  
“I don’t care what you think! I only care about what I SAW! And I CLEARLY SAW THAT SON OF A BITCH’S FACE WHEN HE ABDUCTED THE KIDS! _MY_ KIDS!”

Mai and Katsuya blinked in pure shock, and they exchanged a baffled gaze. Keith Howard wasn’t exactly known for his kindness, not even towards his gang’s members, and they were truly surprised to hear him refer to the two abductees as “his” kids. Sure, the bandit knew how to make himself liked by his crew, but they feared him more than they enjoyed his company.

Katsuya had been fooled, once. When the same man who’d bought him and Shizuka chocolate and toys had shown up in the Jounouchi kitchen one day and grabbed his then ten-year-old sister by the arm and tried to drag her away from her brother’s desperate hold, yelling about debts and their father’s stupidity.

Which is why he realized the way Keith used “my” could mean two very different things, and it made him both misty-eyed and nauseous.

“Since when do you care about your crew, Keith?” Katsuya all but spat.  
“Since they’re not ungrateful brats like you! Ryuu and Haga don’t spend their time bitching about their useless sister or crying about their worthless failure of a father! They’re nothing like you, _Mad Dog_!”

Something shattered inside Katsuya, and it was like all his inhibitions were suddenly lifted. He felt empty and full at the same time, full of a rage that overflowed and threaten to asphyxiate him if he couldn’t release it _immediately_. Feeling his limbs tingle with an energy he’d long forgotten he could feel so intensely, his vision blurring, the teen got up and ignored the pain still coursing through every nerve, numb of body and mind. He barely heard the sudden screams of Mai and the drunken ramblings of Keith, and he only snapped out of his strange, trance-like state when he felt searing chains wrapping around his wrists and ankles, pinning him in place.

“Huh?” Katsuya suddenly felt extremely weak, and his knees gave out under him; he would have collapsed to the ground if not for the strong pair of arms that helped him stand up.  
“It seems like we’ve made it here just in time.” a powerful, calm voice stated above him.

Katsuya’s vision managed to focus on the person he was leaning on: Rishid, Ishizu’s older brother, was looking at him as if he were concerned rather than irritated. Across them, Ishizu was holding one arm out, her hand pulsing with golden energy, holding Katsuya prisoner in the chains she had conjured.

“Thank you, darling.” Mai sighed in relief as she slipped an arm around her fiancée’s waist. “I don’t think I would have been able to stop him on my own.”  
“I’m sorry.” Katsuya mumbled. Rishid let him go, and he was able to stand on his own, although his legs still felt feeble. “I… ugh, I kinda lost control. He just kept pressing all my buttons, and-”  
“Jounouchi.” Mai calmly stepped towards him. Katsuya suddenly felt uneasy; the innkeeper could manage to display a perfect illusion of tranquility when she was extremely furious, and he’d done everything to earn that anger. “Keith’s vile, everybody knows that. And you have every right to despise him. But don’t let him hurt you more than he’s already done.”  
“I… I know, it’s just, I, I’m not like that anymore, you know?”

Mai felt like she was sent back three years earlier, when she’d caught a very desperate, grimy and weakened kid with mangled hair and crazed eyes trying to rob her at knifepoint. Back then, she had felt like she was dealing with a frightened wild animal, and so she used the same calm, even tone she had used on that day as she took Katsuya in her arms and soothingly pet his hair.

“I know. You’re a good person, Katsuya Jounouchi, and you’ve always been. It’s just that you’ve had to go through very, very difficult events, and sadly Keith was the only way out of your situation at the moment.”  
“Speaking of Keith, where did he go?” Ishizu inquired, frowning.

Seeing that her fiancée had successfully managed to calm the blonde down, the clairvoyant released him from her chains, and he almost collapsed in Mai’s arms.

“He left, and when he did, he was still rambling and talking about going to the City Guard.”

Making sure Katsuya was able to stand on his own, the innkeeper turned towards Ishizu, both women sharing an alarmed look.

“You two stay here and make sure he doesn’t go berserk again.” she instructed as she bolted towards the door, the frills of her elegant dress bobbing along her frantic pace.

Keith had seen Ishizu use her powers, there was no doubt about it. With Haga and Ryuuzaki’s disappearance, with how the events had unfolded since Katsuya’s arrival at the Den, with the grudges he held towards the two of them and with who he thought responsible for the double kidnapping, the drunk bandit had every reason to go on a rambling spree as he made his way to the City Guard’s office on the nearest plaza, and to let information about Ishizu slip.

“KEITH HOWARD, YOU THIEVING DRUNKARD, COME BACK HERE!” Mai shouted, hoping her cries would cover his own noise, her heels stomping the paved ground with each step. She was catching up with him, and she could hear his rough voice grow louder and louder, every passerby curiously watching the man yell at the top of his lungs as he headed towards the immaculate building on the other side of the plaza.  
“SHUT UP, YOU WRETCHED HARLOT!” Keith screamed when she grabbed him by the wrist. “LET ME GO!”  
“NO! NOT UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO THE DEN AND PAY WHAT YOU OWE ME!”  
“What is going on here?”

The two of them froze when the familiar, elegant voice resounded in the air.

Stepping down the stairs of the City Guard’s quarters, donning a prestigious dark armor, Guard Captain Crawford looked at them as if they were annoying mosquitoes and not known, convicted criminals. Everyone on the plaza had stopped their activities or their chitchat; Pegasus Crawford was as feared as he was appreciated by the denizens, and they all wanted to see what would unfold.

“Nothing, Captain Crawford.” Mai quickly regained her composure and let go of the blonde. “Keith simply… forgot to pay me the ten pints he drunk earlier today.”  
“Well, Miss Kujaku, I can’t say I’m surprised.” the silver haired-man tilted his head, an affably fake smile on his thin lips as he looked at Keith. “After all, it wouldn’t be the first time Mr. Howard “forgot” to pay for something, would it?”  
“Shut it, dickhead!”

Keith was a seasoned brawler, but in his current state, he was no match for Pegasus. The thug charged towards the captain and threw his fist at him with the intent to send him flying, but Pegasus easily dodged his punch and quickly grabbed Keith by his wrist, bending the joint in a way that sent the criminal to the ground as he cried in pain.

“LET ME GO, ASSHOLE! AND LET THE KIDS GO TOO!”

If the spectators had already been curious about what would happen, they were now completely captivated. Everyone on the plaza had heard about the double kidnapping that had taken place mere hours before, and they all immediately jumped to the correct conclusion that Keith was talking about Haga and Ryuuzaki.

“Kids?” Crawford blinked in earnest confusion. “What are you talking about?”  
“DON’T PLAY DUMB! I KNOW _YOU’RE_ BEHIND IT! YOU, AND THE REST OF THE CITY GUARD, AND THE ROYAL GUARD IS ON IT TOO!”

The gang leader’s screams caught the attention of even more people, and even Mai was transfixed by the sight in front of her. She kept looking at the Guard Captain, hoping his face would betray the tiniest hint of fear, anger or annoyance. But Crawford’s features remained stuck in a very puzzled expression.

“I have absolutely no idea of what you’re talking about. Which is why I’m politely inviting you inside, so you can sober up and then explain it more calmly.”  
“I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE, SHITHEAD! NOT UNTIL YOU STOP FUCKING ABDUCTING WITCHES AND ALL!”  
“This is extremely pathetic, even by his standards.” one of the guards who had been alerted by the noise and had run outside the City Guard’s station winced.  
“I agree.” Pegasus nodded slowly, his grip on Keith starting to weaken a bit as the blonde kept thrashing and trying to kick him. “Alright, that’s enough, Mr Howard. Come on, let’s bring him inside.”  
“I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU! YOU, TAKAIDO, GOZABURO, _ALL OF YOU_!”

Under the denizens’ unbelieving eyes, Keith was dragged inside the station. Pegasus did his best to reassure the crowd that had gathered, explaining that Keith Howard was known to be a lying and hardened criminal, and not to pay attention to his drunken ramblings.

But as the Guard Captain followed his men inside the building, Mai looked around her and saw how confused and pensive everyone looked. The people were starting to get paranoid and fed up about the kidnappings, and the fact that this time, teens had been abducted had made the ambient fear even worse; and of course, Keith’s accusations had added fuel to an already blazing fire.

She had to admit that even though she had her reservations about her former associate’s account of the events, he had managed to plant perverse seeds of doubt in her heart. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen Keith lash out in anger; but this time, he had misty eyes and a shaky voice, and she couldn’t help but feel like his ire came from a deeper place than simply feeling robbed of two valuable assets.

And as she looked around and saw people speaking in hushed tones, Mai wondered if Keith hadn’t managed to make Gozaburo’s subjects even more wary of him.

* * *

Standing on his balcony, Seto watched as the sun started to set. The balcony offered him an incomparable view of the tableau: from where he stood, the prince could see the ocean south of the capital glisten under the sun’s dying rays. A few boats were scattered across the vast expanses of water, leaving shining trails of foam in their wake. The stars and the moon hadn’t come out yet: the sky had just started to turn various shades of bright oranges, reds and pinks, a few clouds here and there casting ominous shadows on the firmament’s colored canvas.

“Seto!”

The prince had been so captivated by the breathtaking spectacle unfolding before his eyes that he hadn’t even heard his brother step inside his room. As much as he wanted to enjoy a bit of peaceful solitude after his harrowing day, Seto was glad Mokuba had decided to pay him an impromptu visit.

“Good evening, Mokuba.” the brunette smiled as his brother threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly.  
“I’m so happy I finally get to see you!”

The prince couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped him. Gozaburo had done everything to isolate Seto lately, overloading his schedule and always managing to keep Mokuba away from him. Fortunately, the king tended to underestimate his younger’s son perseverance and stubbornness, which rivaled only that of Seto himself. The boy always found a way to sneak in his brother’s chambers, archery garden or personal library.

“I’m happy as well.” Seto nodded with an affectionate ruffle of his brother’s hair.

After hugging him for a while, Mokuba freed Seto’s waist from his strong, warm embrace and positioned himself right next to the heir, the two of them standing towards the seemingly infinite sea. The youngest sibling slid his hand in Seto’s, and the prince held it tightly, knowing how attention starved Mokuba had been lately.

“You’ll take me with you, right?” the boy suddenly asked, his eyes still looking at the ocean.  
“What do you mean?”  
“When you’ll go to other kingdoms, to meet other kings and queens and make alliances… you’ll take me with you?”

Seto turned his azure gaze towards his beloved brother. Mokuba’s long hair had probably been tied in an elegant ribbon earlier in the day, but it was now messy and almost all of it had fallen out of the ribbon. His clothes, made from the finest silks one could afford, sported small tears and tiny grass stains, and his shirt wasn’t properly tucked in his short pants. His shoes were in a deplorable state, and so were the long socks that were now falling and crumpled on top of his leather pumps.

His brother made him think of a lion trapped in a cage, an animal Gozaburo tried to tame but that wouldn’t fit in the mold the king had designed for him. Mokuba was smart, capable and extremely good at reading and interacting with people, which would make him a wonderful asset when negotiating with other kingdoms or to interact with Aeternia’s denizens. But the reigning king had no concern for the boy’s natural talents, preferring to do his best – or rather, his worst - to turn him into a clone of Seto. Gozaburo went as far as to forbid Mokuba to ever leave the palace on his own and without permission from the king himself, which meant Mokuba hadn’t left the palace’s confines in years.

It drove the brunette mad, and he couldn’t wait until his brother would finally be allowed to blossom as the best version of himself instead of failing to become a copy of Seto.

“Of course I will.” Seto nodded, his hold on Mokuba’s hand tightening. “We’ll visit all the kingdoms and countries beyond the sea, together.”  
“Promise?”

Two soft, passionate amethysts turned towards him, and the prince could feel all the resolve and all the love in the world radiate from his brother’s form, just as strong as when they were children and Seto had promised him that one day, they’d rule Aeternia together.

“Promise.”

* * *

“That was it for today’s meeting. The council’s dismissed.”

The various people sitting around the large table at the center of the room didn’t wait for Gozaburo’s hand to give them an impatient wave, and they all but scrambled to get outside of the Council Room. Once more, the king had ignored the vast majority of the complaints they relayed and the solutions they proposed, preferring to discuss military strategies and preparations for the upcoming coronation ceremony.

After the noises of moving chairs, hushed whispers and hurried steps died down, there were only seven people left around the table: the king, his oldest heir and the five Royal Advisors that formed the king’s most valuable assembly, five men who had been fighting by his side for years.

“That does include you, Seto.” Gozaburo frowned when he saw his son had stayed in his chair, arms crossed in front of him and defiance seeping from his every pore.  
“No, father.” the prince refused, his eyes burning with a cold blaze aimed straight at the king. “I won’t leave this room until we’ve further discussed the subject of those shadows attacking people at night.”  
“Is that so, Seto?” the monarch squinted his eyes, his gaze as fierce and unforgiving as his heir’s. “Then it shall be quick. Those shadows are nothing but the delusions of people who have been in contact with too much ambrosia. You do know the first symptoms of Ambrosia Syndrome include hallucinations, right?”

Gozaburo’s tone had turned sickly sweet and mocking, as if the prince wouldn’t know anything about the disease that was currently ravaging the poorest districts of the capital. Seto didn’t even gratify his father’s taunt with a proper answer, preferring to huff a little.

“Those shadows are nothing but sick people being afraid of the dark.” the king hammered.  
“In that case, shouldn’t the issue regarding Ambrosia Syndrome be discussed?” Seto countered. “More and more people are succumbing to it.”  
“The need for ambrosia has never been this high, your Highness.” one of the five advisors chimed in, earning a death glare from the brunette. Oshita mainly concerned himself with managing the kingdom’s resources, and Seto didn’t believe for a second the advisor cared about the repercussions that the cultivation of the dangerous plant had on the people working in the fields. “Our Royal Mages require it to keep making the powerful potions that keep us all safe, and-”  
“They keep us safe from wars that shouldn’t be fought in the first place!” Seto cut abruptly. “And if more and more people keep developing Ambrosia Syndrome, there won’t be much to protect before long!”  
“That’s enough, Seto!” Gozaburo roared, his fist pounding against the table.

Ignoring the shiver that the sudden, loud noise had sent down his spine, the brunette got up and looked at his father the way one looks at the most repulsing, vile pile of filth they’ve ever had the misfortune of encountering.

“I do agree, father, it _is_ enough.” Seto spat, every word dripping with hatred and bitterness. “The constant wars, the bloodshed, the contempt you have for your people – it is more than enough, and it has been for a while. And it’s about to change.”  
“You’ll act as you please after your coronation, Seto.” Gozaburo replied with the same thinly veiled animosity. “But until the 25th of October, _I_ am in charge of this kingdom and its subjects. Including you and the worthless boy I have for a second son.”

For a fraction of a second, Seto was sure he would kill his monster of a father, that he’d leap across the table and strangle him with his bare hands, rip his throat apart with his teeth and claw at his chest until he could tear his heart from it and crush it in his hands. But the tentative idea vanished almost immediately – he didn’t stand a chance against Gozaburo, not with the king’s most loyal men in the same room.

So the prince did the only thing he could, and he spat on the table emblazoned with Gozaburo’s coat of arms before heading towards the Council Room’s massive doors.

“Enjoy your throne while you’re sitting on it, father.” Seto laughed joylessly as he left the room, and he finished his sentence in his head: “Because when _I_ ’m in charge, you won’t be able to enjoy anything ever again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well well well, the plot thickens!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next Saturday for chapter 3!  
> Thank you for the kudos, reviews and bookmarks, it means the world to me <3
> 
> If you want to read more about this chapter feel free to head here! https://maple-princess.blogspot.com/2020/09/cendrillon-chapter-2-few-notes.html


	4. Third strike ~ Crossroads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 
> 
> Sorry for updating this chapter a day later than promised... I started a new rotation (child psychiatry!!! it's what I want to specialize in!!) this week so I had to get used to my new schedule and didn't find the time I needed to write something I was satisfied with >_>  
> Also... I got a bit carried away by this week's update... it was supposed to have yet another part before the final sets of paragraphs, but I pushed it to the next chapter because I had already written a lot.  
> I hope you'll enjoy the continuation of our heroes' adventures! On top of that, you'll get to meet one of the story's couples (and probably the most lovey-dovey pair). Ain't that sweet?  
> As always, special thanks to my beta reader Jan for her feedback on this week's chapter <3 <3 <3
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy!

_He can’t suppress the pained groan that escapes him when he straightens himself in his bed, every bone in his body crying in agony as he readjusts his position so he’s sitting up correctly._

_“Don’t move. You’re not fully healed yet.”_

_He can’t help the chuckle that leaves his lips when he hears that voice, and he slowly turns his head to the side, towards the window as he does his best to ignore his body’s agonizing protests. Of course,_ he _is here, leaning against the wall, his usually carefully brushed blonde hair falling on his shoulders and spilling all over his tunic, all the way down to his hips. The garment, usually pristine and perfectly fitting every angle and every curve of his slender, toned body, is a bit crumpled and stained._

_He lets his chest fall back against the thick and comfortable pillow just a bit so he can take the blonde’s figure in without having to crane his head too much. The blonde starts to make his way towards him, concern and even a hint of fear and fatigue clear on his usually impassive features._

_“It’s a miracle you’re not dead.” he says as his ultramarine gaze roams all over the body in front of him before coming back to the eyes looking at him with such fondness.  
_ _“I know. I like to defy the odds.” he smiles, almost regretting it when the tiny movement sends a rush of pain in his face and down his neck.  
_ _“What were you thinking?” the blonde is anything but smiling as he sits on the bed, and his eyes might just be shining with the tiniest of tears. “You’re not capable of fully using your power. Not yet.”  
_ _“Don’t you think I know that?” his smile falters, and his expression turns sour. “I’m perfectly aware of how weak I am compared to you, thank you, -------.”  
_ _“Nonsense. You’re anything but weak.”_

_The blonde’s hand finds the other’s, and their fingers instinctively intertwine._

_“You’re not weak.” he repeats. “You’ve simply started your training later. The Empress has no doubt you will catch up, and I fully agree with her on that.”_

_He’s tempted to say he doesn’t need his pity, but he knows the stern warrior sitting next to him isn’t one to show pity, ever. He’s simply speaking his mind, as he always does. As the two of them always do, showing the other no mercy and allowing no respite, being true to one another the way they’ve always been._

_“------. Look at me.”_

_He does, and he finds himself face to face with the softest gaze he’s ever seen, twin tanzanite gems shining with all the love and all of the strength in the world, and he lets himself drown in that welcoming sea._

_“You have one of the strongest potentials I have ever seen. And I know that one day, you’ll have completely polished that raw power, you'll make it yours and you'll transcend it. I know it, because I know you, and you’re one stubborn man who never gives up.”  
_ _"… I can’t exactly disagree with you on that.”_

_They smile, and they close their eyes as their lips meet in a kiss where they convey everything their words can’t ever hope to express._

Katsuya slowly opened his eyes, surprised to feel wet trails running down his face. He brought a hand to his cheek and brushed it over his eyes, which were silently spilling tears as he felt the phantom warmth of a pair of lips vanish from his own mouth.

“Huh… why am I crying?”

He had enjoyed his dream, even more than usual. For starters, he had _finally_ been able to kiss his nightly visitor, and their kiss had been everything he had longed for and more. Katsuya hadn’t ever imagined it could be so dizzying to kiss someone, that he could feel so complete and so at peace while doing so. Even though he had felt a very realistic and intense pain in his dream, he had also been allowed to be filled with a sensation of plenitude, of love and trust so pure and absolute he was convinced his heart would shatter under the perfect fervor of those emotions.

Yet Katsuya couldn’t understand why he had been crying during his sleep, and why he still couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down his cheeks. He wasn’t crying out of sadness, nor was he crying out of happiness; the emotion overflowing him was foreign, and it was as enticing as it scared him.

The blonde tried to focus on something else to appease the maelstrom of emotions ravaging his heart, but he simply couldn’t. His mind wouldn’t let go of the stranger, of the man he saw every night and loved so much that words would never be enough to explain it accurately. Katsuya closed his eyes and did his best to center his attention on the most frustrating part of his dream, when the stranger and him had called each other by their names. But try as he might, Katsuya was simply unable to recall what their names were. Static replaced their voices during those crucial seconds, but the teen _knew_ those noises were hiding one of the most important pieces of information he could hope to find in his nightly visions.

The teen did his best to put his frustration at bay, and he grabbed the thick sketchbook and the wooden pencil lying on the floor next to his bed. Katsuya flipped it open to a new page, and sighed when he realized only a few blank pages were left. He had bought the sketchbook a few years ago, right after settling in his new home, and he used it as a dream journal of sorts. All the pages were covered in his messy handwriting and with quick sketches of his dreams, and there was a lot of drawings of the stranger who visited him so often.

Mai had generously given Katsuya a day off to enjoy with his sister, which meant the blonde was, for once, not in a hurry. Oftentimes, he woke up too late to fill his journal, which meant he had to wait until he got home after the lunch service, and by then most of his memories of the nightly visions had vanished. So for once, Katsuya took his time to write down as many details as he could, and he particularly did his best to draw the blonde stranger as scrupulously as he could. He had never received any formal training, but Katsuya was as talented with a pencil as his sister was with her sewing needles, and he was satisfied with the end result.

The only thing he wished he could have captured more accurately was the mysterious warrior’s eyes. His face wasn’t very expressive, but so much was conveyed through his indigo irises; the slightest shift in the stranger’s mood was sure to reach his eyes, and they haunted Katsuya with their intensity and their magnetism.

Somewhat satisfied, Katsuya put his tools inside his bedside table’s drawer, got dressed and made his way downstairs. He could hear excited chatter come from the small living room at the bottom of the stairs, and he entered the room with a cheerful smile:

“You should have come and told me Anzu was there, Shizuka!”

His sister and one of their closest friends, Anzu, were sitting next to each other on the cramped couch Katsuya had found in an alleyway and fixed. Anzu returned Katsuya’s smile tenfold and got up before rushing to him and giving him a tight hug.

“Katsuya! It’s been so long, I keep missing you!” she exclaimed when the blonde held her just as tight.  
“Sorry, I have a lot of work at the moment! But I’m very happy we finally get to spend some time together.”

The two friends let each other go, still smiling.

Anzu Masaki was one of the Jounouchi siblings’ childhood friends. Just like them, she had been raised in the poorest districts of the capital; but around her seventh birthday, she had been scouted by one of the Royal Theater Academy’s teachers. Since the little girl had always been passionate about dancing and acting, she had been more than happy to accept the scholarship they had offered her, and her parents had agreed to entrust her education and wellbeing to the Academy’s teachers. They loved their daughter, and they wanted nothing more than to help her achieve her dream; they knew such an occasion wouldn’t represent itself, especially given their social status.

She was now eighteen and a proud member of the Royal Ensemble, and she was constantly travelling through the kingdom to give performances in various cities. Thankfully for the Jounouchi siblings, Anzu regularly came back to the capital, and they made the most of these occasions.

“I’m sorry for not waking you up, big brother.” Shizuka apologized when Anzu sat next to her again. “You looked like you could use some sleep.”  
“It’s okay, Shizuka.” Katsuya reassured her as he plopped down on the armchair facing the couch. “Thanks for letting me sleep in.”  
“You do look tired.” Anzu agreed. “Shizuka told me you’ve been working even harder than usual lately.”  
“There’s even more business than usual at the Den, especially with the whole coronation thing.”  
“Oh! I can’t wait for Prince Seto to become king!” Shizuka beamed, earning a chuckle from the other girl. “He seems intelligent and like he’s far more of a diplomat than his father.”  
“Pshh!” Katsuya rolled his eyes. “He’s just another rich boy who got lucky and was born into a good family. What makes you think he won’t be worse than Gozaburo?”  
“I’m not sure that’s possible.” Anzu sighed as she poured herself some tea. “Lately, there’s been some really horrifying rumors going around.”

The two other teens nodded in approval. It was hard to tell what was fact, what was fiction and what was a little bit of both, but terrible stories had always been circulating about the belligerent king. And after the scene Keith had made in front of the City Guard’s station, the rumors had only gotten wilder and wilder. According to some people, Gozaburo was behind the kidnappings happening all over the kingdom, and he was also to blame for the recent shadow phenomenon. Others also believed that he had ordered for the ambrosia fields to be poisoned as a way to eliminate the poorest part of the population.

“I’m still waiting to see if things are gonna change when that prick gets on the throne.” Katsuya grumbled. “They might not get worse, but they probably won’t get better either.”  
“Come on, Katsuya, let’s stay optimistic.” Anzu encouraged him with a reassuring squeeze on his knee. “I haven’t met Prince Seto personally, but some people in my troop have, and he doesn’t seem that bad.”  
“Yeah, he might be tolerable in person, but he’s still been raised by Gozaburo.”  
“Awful parents don’t always raise awful children.” Shizuka quietly countered, her soft eyes looking directly at her brother.

Katsuya couldn’t argue with that, and as countless memories of his childhood started playing at the same time, invading his mind with a cacophony of sounds and emotions, he retreated into silence.  
The two girls noticed his suddenly pensive expression, and Anzu tried to lighten the mood.

“There’s going to be an official announcement later today, but since I’m a part of it, I have some little insider news to give you… in four days, there’s going to be a huge parade!”  
“A parade?! Really?” Shizuka gasped, her eyes suddenly sparkling with pure joy.  
“Yup!” the dancer nodded with a satisfied grin. “In the afternoon, in Prince Seto’s honor. There’s going to be dancers, jugglers, acrobats, animals you’ve never seen before…”  
“Ooooh! That sounds wonderful…” the youngest girl sighed as she started to daydream about what such a spectacle could be like. “Are you going to be a part of it?”  
“I sure am! It’s going to be my first representation at a royal event.” The dancer’s smile widened, and even Katsuya couldn’t help but start to grin back.  
“Do you… do you think anyone can attend it?”

His sister’s voice was filled with so much hope Katsuya couldn’t help but feel something tighten in his chest. Ever since they were born, Katsuya, Shizuka, Ryuuzaki and all of the other denizens of the poorest neighborhoods had been treated harshly by the City Guard, the Royal Guard and the highest authority of the kingdom himself. Chances to make it out of their miserable status were extremely rare, and they had to be seized immediately, just as Anzu and some of Katsuya’s friends had done.  
Underprivileged denizens weren’t explicitly or officially banned from attending certain events or parties, but in practice, local authorities knew how to recognize what class people were from and discriminated based on social status. King Gozaburo regularly paraded in the streets of the capital, especially after a gruesome and triumphant victory over another country, but his itinerary was always lined with Royal Guards who made sure the most disadvantaged people never got too close to the king.

“I don’t think so, I _know_ so.” Anzu gladly answered Shizuka, and Katsuya felt relief and curiosity wash over him. “Guards are ordered to let anyone get to the front line, regardless of their profession, age, appearance or status. Apparently, the order came from Prince Seto himself!”  
“See, big brother!” Shizuka got up and threw herself at Katsuya, who wrapped his arms around her laughing form. “What did I tell you! Our new king will bring some positive changes, we just have to be patient and trust him!”  
“Yeah, yeah.” the blonde sighed as he hugged his sister. He was almost certain it was nothing but a way to make himself more popular and accepted by the lower class, but he didn’t want to ruin Shizuka’s happiness and hopes  
“We’ll go see it, right?”

From behind Shizuka’s shoulder, Katsuya noticed Anzu staring at him intently, and he could almost hear her _dare_ him to refuse his sibling’s request.

“Of course, Shizuka. I’ll even ask Mai to go shopping with you for a new dress for the occasion.”  
“Really? Thank you so much, big brother!”

The teen held him tighter, and Katsuya embraced her just as strongly, relieved that even after all the trials life had put them through, Shizuka was still strong and optimistic enough to believe in a brighter future.

* * *

“Jounouchi, two beef stews and one leek pie!”  
“Got it!”

Right after transmitting the order of the three peasants that had taken place at the Den’s last available table, Miho ran out of the kitchen and made her way to one of the many tables calling for her. The young waitress was happy that the inn seemed more successful than ever, especially when other businesses were suffering from the current events, but she always left her shifts completely exhausted.

The Harpie’s Den hadn’t ever needed a lot of personnel: Mai took care of an impressive part of the inn’s duties all by herself. Sometimes, Ishizu and Rishid gave her a hand; but other than that, she simply needed three other people to run the place: a cook, a waitress and a maid. It had been enough until now, but with the day of the coronation nearing, and with the upcoming parade, Aeternia’s capital saw more and more travelers from all around the kingdom coming to the city, filling all of its inns and hostels to the brim.

Mai had started to scout more people, namely a second cook and another waiter, but she hadn’t managed to find any candidate so far. The energetic woman had several factors working against her: she was a former criminal, she ran a business in the shadiest parts of the city, and although she was generous with her employees, she certainly couldn’t afford the high salaries other innkeepers offered potential recruits.

Miho herself had only accepted to work for her when, a year before, she had to choose between becoming a waitress at the Harpie’s Den and walking the streets. She had never regretted her decision, and even though she had started her job with terrifying preconceived ideas about Mai, Miho had quickly grown to like the former bandit, both as her employer and as a friend. Nonetheless, the young girl understood that in the current climate, people easily distrusted those with a shady past.

“Hey, girlie! Can I have another beer?”  
“Coming right up!”

Miho kept running between the tables, to the bar where Mai kept pouring pint after pint, to the kitchen where Katsuya was preparing several dishes at the same time, everywhere she was needed. Sweat was starting to glisten on her forehead, and she had to roll her blouse’s sleeves up, but the young girl kept going at the insane pace imposed by the inn’s clients.

Around an hour before Mai would forcefully end the service – some of the clients wanted nothing more than to spend the night drinking and eating, drowning their worries with rich ale and smothering their sorrows with Katsuya’s cooking, but Mai wanted her employees to get some rest – a client stepped inside the inn, alone. Miho couldn’t help but be intrigued: nowadays, very few people traveled on their own at night, especially when they came to the inn. On top of that, the newcomer’s face was partially obscured by the hood of his worn woolen cape.

Curiosity giving her a much needed boost of energy, Miho trotted to the client, offering him her best smile. Now that she was standing close to him, and with the room’s dim lights, she was able to see the stranger’s face. His skin seemed tanned, and several scars were scattered on his cheeks and his forehead. Under thick brown bangs, a pair of blue-grey eyes were looking at her with the ferocity of a caged animal.

“Good evening, sir! Are you on your own? Would you prefer to sit at a table or at the counter?”  
“Neither, thanks. I’m here to see someone.”

Miho frowned and unconsciously recoiled from the stranger. Clients who introduced themselves with such declarations, especially so late in the evening, often had the intent of conducting fishy deals in the inn under the pretense of having dinner with an acquaintance. However, and even though she was close to exhaustion, Miho managed to smile once more and politely ask her client:

“Of course! Who are you here for?”  
“I want to speak to Mai Kujaku.”  
“Ah…” Miho hesitated. She quickly glanced at the bar, where her employer was still busy serving clients and chatting with them. “Um, she’s busy right now but-”  
“I need to see her _now_.” The stranger insisted.  
“I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t think she will-”  
“It’s urgent. Please, ask her to meet me in the alleyway behind the inn as quickly as possible.”

The man’s eyes had grown darker and his tone had turned almost threatening and imperative, which convinced Miho to at least transmit his request to Mai.

“Alright.” the waitress sighed. “But I can’t guarantee she will come.”  
“She will.” the brown-haired man confidently nodded. “Just tell her Valon’s asking for her. Good night.”

Without even waiting for a reply, the man – Valon, then – left the inn, almost running. Miho blinked in confusion, before hastily making her way behind the counter. Mai was pouring ale in a large mug, but she immediately stopped when she saw her employee’s puzzled expression.

“Are you okay, Miho?”  
“Yes, I’m fine, thanks. But a man just came, he told me to tell you that Valon wants to see you right now in the alley behind the inn.”

Miho thanked her lightning fast reflexes when she managed to catch the beer mug Mai brutally dropped before it hit the floor. By the time the teen had put it on the counter, Mai’s eyes were still open wide and her face was frozen in shock.

“Miss Kujaku? Is everything alright?” Miho hurriedly inquired. She had never seen the innkeeper’s face so pale, and she noticed Mai’s hands were slightly trembling.  
“… yes, everything’s alright.” the blonde finally blinked out of her stupor. “I’m… I’ll go get Ishizu to supervise everything while I’m gone.”

Before Miho could ask any more questions, Mai dashed all the way to the inn’s stairs, leaving her employee and her patrons greatly confused. Her heart racing and a million memories and doubts flashing in her mind, Mai ran to the room she shared with her fiancée, who was sitting on their bed and reading.

“Mai?” Ishizu asked when she saw the blonde barge inside the room, her cheeks flushed and the rest of her skin ghostly pale. “What’s going on?”  
“Valon is here and he wants to see me.”

The spellcaster’s hands shot in front of her mouth, her book falling on the bedsheets. She now understood her lover’s panic, and she quickly got up and ran to her side, embracing her in a comforting hug.

“Are you…"  
“I have to. If he’s here, then ignoring him is the worst option. Can you watch over the inn for me while I’m gone?”  
“I won’t let you go on your own.” Ishizu refused when Mai gently pushed her away.  
“I won’t be far, he wants to meet up in the alley.”  
“But what if it’s a trap?”  
“Then I’ll give you the signal.”

Instinctively, the two women reached for the golden pendants falling against their chests. Ishizu had infused them with her powers: if one of them was in trouble, she was to focus intensely on the pendant, and even if she couldn’t touch it, the enchanted piece of jewelry would resound with its twin, making it glow red and alerting its owner of the peril her lover was in.

“Alright.” Ishizu gave in with a worried sigh. “But be careful.”  
“I’ll do my best.”

Mai gave her fiancée a quick peck on the lips, and then she was gone, leaving a very worried Ishizu behind her.

A few minutes later, the innkeeper entered the alleyway Valon had told her he would wait in. It was a bit past 1 am, and the night’s cold air was biting Mai’s exposed arms. In her rush, she had forgotten to put a coat on before leaving the inn, and she hoped the rendezvous wouldn’t last long.

“Valon?”

The man leaning on the dead end’s wall immediately stepped towards her when she called his name. Even with the moon’s faint glow for sole light, and even with the cape hiding the top of his body, Mai could notice that her former crew member had grown a bit and put some muscle on since they’d last seen each other. His step was more confident, and when he reached her, she also noted that his gaze seemed more resolute and crueler. 

“It’s been a while, Mai.” The brown-haired man greeted her, his voice deeper and rougher than the innkeeper remembered.  
“It has.” she nodded, ill-at-ease but also managing to remain composed. “So, why did you want to see me?”

She didn’t ask him how he had been, or what had happened since her gang had been dismantled. Mai wasn’t the kind to exchange pleasantries when they weren’t needed, and from Valon’s expression and stern stance, she was almost certain that her former crew member didn't come simply because he wanted them to catch up like two old friends.

Even though they had spent years together, Valon was still taken aback by the blonde’s abruptness. Nevertheless, he answered as if he had expected her to be so curt:

“Listen, I have an offer for you.”  
“An offer?” Mai repeated in disbelief. After what had happened when she had taken the decision to leave her gang, the former criminal wasn’t convinced any of her former henchmen would be interested in having anything to do with her, except for taking their revenge, maybe. “An actual offer, or the kind of offer I can’t refuse?”  
“An actual offer.” Valon replied, a bit agitated. “I don’t have a lot of time for details, but… let’s just say I’m privy to some intel. Mai, things are going to happen soon. Not necessarily good things.”  
“Things are already bad, Valon.” Mai stopped him immediately, wary of where Valon’s speech was headed. “Unless whoever it is you got your intel from is plotting on something like setting the town on fire, or starting another war, they can’t get much worse. And if it’s the kind of things they have planned, then I won’t have anything to do with it.”  
“You don’t understand.” Valon hissed through gritted teeth. “I’m not talking about crimes or anything like that. What I’m trying to say is… is that things are gonna change, for better or for worse. I’m talking about the bigger picture.”

Mai remained silent, waiting for the man to continue. But nothing came next, and Valon kept looking at her as if he was expectantly waiting for a reply.

“My answer is still no. When I left the gang, I told you all I was leaving my old life behind and that it was up to you to find out what you wanted to do with yours, didn’t I?”  
“Yeah, but-”  
“ _I_ found out what I want to do with my life. I got engaged, I opened an inn, and I’m very happy with what I have going for me. I am not going to put what I’ve worked so hard for in jeopardy.”  
“You don’t understand, Mai!” Valon repeated, this time grabbing his former acolyte by the shoulders, panic clear on his face. “Before the end of the month, life as we know it we’ll be over! A new era is coming, and you can be part of it! You can-”

Valon’s sentence was brought to an abrupt end when Mai rammed her knee into his sternum, and the brown-haired man collapsed to the ground as he moaned in pain and struggled to steady his breathing.

“Don’t _ever_ touch me again.” Mai warned, her tone freezing cold and oozing hostility. “And, in case my answer wasn’t clear enough, I want NOTHING to do with whatever mess you’re trying to drag me in. In fact, I don’t want to see you here ever again. Farewell, Valon.”

Without sparing her former friend a single glance, Mai spun around and walked back towards the inn’s comforting warmth. Her body was shivering, and she knew it had nothing to do with the cold air. Meeting up with Valon had brought a lot of painful memories back, which she could have dealt with more calmly. But the madness deforming his youthful features when he had tried to give her convoluted explanations about his “offer”, the strength he had grabbed her with, the sinister aura she had felt emanating from him – it had all been too much.

Hoping Valon had simply failed to convey a complicated message to her, and not that he had mysteriously developed clairvoyant abilities since Mai’s gang had been dismantled, Mai threw herself in the welcoming tenderness of Ishizu’s open arms.

* * *

_You’re standing as elegantly as you can, your head held high and your back straight. You’re wearing the finest, most expensive clothes you own – your father has made sure of that. Seeing you, dressed to the nines in elegant burgundy and grey silks, your hair brushed even more carefully than usual and a chiseled golden crown shining on your forehead, you radiate majesty._

_One could think you’re about to meet high nobility, or even royalty. After all, even your father is dressed almost as regally as he can. But they couldn’t be more wrong: you’re simply waiting for something your father usually despises: poor people.  
_ _You have no idea why the occasion requires such preparations. It’s not like the clothes the royal family usually wears are modest: your father is known for his extravagant and obscenely adorned outfits, a taste you somewhat share._

_You guess you’re about to find out, because the throne room’s large doors open, and the guests your father expected so much finally enter the room._

_They seem so tiny, and it’s not just because they’re just starting to make their way across the long crimson carpet leading to the throne where your father sits. They’re children, and they both seem younger than you. One of them, a brunette, walks in front of the other, his step determined and his back straight, his head held high as he looks right in front of him. The other, wild raven hair falling down to his shoulders and far smaller than the first boy, is tightly clutching the other’s shirt in his small fist, his pace uncertain but forced to match the other guest’s._

_When they get close enough for you to make out their facial features, your eyes lock with the brunette’s, and you almost drown in the storm that’s raging in the twin cerulean irises. But something immediately claws at your heart, and you can feel intense and inexplicable hatred overflow you, taking your breath away and making your fists curl in agonizing anger, dizzying loathing setting your mind and body ablaze. You’ve never seen the boy before, yet there’s something terrifyingly and disgustingly familiar about him, and for the first time of your life, you’re filled with such a profound revulsion that you wish he’d just_ **drop dead right now** _._

_The only thing that stops you from unleashing your barely contained rage is the overwhelming presence of your father abruptly standing up behind you. A small part of your brain has managed to remember how pompous the situation is supposed to be, and that same part shivers in fear at what punishment your father might come up with if you harm or insult the two boys he was apparently eagerly waiting to arrive._

_When the two of them finally reach the platform on which you and your father stand, your and the brown-haired boy’s eyes are still locked, none of you looking away from the other. He doesn’t stare at you with the same animosity you hold; his gaze is more curious and defiant than it is hostile. From the corner of your vision, you can perceive the younger boy staring at you as well, but you can’t be bothered to grace him with the tiniest bit of attention._

_“Welcome, Seto and Mokuba. I hope your journey was pleasant.”_

_None of the two boys answer, and although your heart and mind are still burning with hatred, you can’t help but become slightly curious. People never ignore King Gozaburo; and if they do, it usually doesn’t end well for them. You simply hope your father won’t be too harsh on them, because you can’t stand the thought of someone else harming the brunette before you do._

_“It was. Thank you.” the oldest child finally answers, and he spits his reply more than he speaks it. The other boy clutches the brunette’s shirt even tighter, and you’re so focused on your target that you almost jump in surprise when you feel something heavy weigh on your shoulder._

_“Well, now that you’re here, I can finally introduce the two of you to my beloved son. Noa, this is Seto-” he gestures in the direction of the boy whose sight makes your head hurt with blind hatred “-and this is Mokuba.”_

_So, the older one is named Seto. As the name echoes countless times in your head, Seto gently moves the other child so he can protectively wrap his arms around his shivering form, and you can’t help the way your lips curl in the faintest ghost of a demented smile. It seems like you’ve already found out one of Seto’s weaknesses, thanks to the brunette making it so obvious._

_“Pleased to meet you.” Seto speaks again, his words colder than ice.  
_ _“The pleasure is mine.” you answer with the fakest tone you can.  
_ _“Well, I’m glad you seem so pleased with those two boys, Noa.” your father says, and your heart misses a beat. You recognize the inflections he has just used, and that timbre never comes with good news for anyone but the king. “Because from here on out, Seto and Mokuba are your brothers.”_

* * *

When Mokuba wasn’t around to lend him enough energy to float away from his body and hold a proper conversation, Noa wasn’t fully unconscious, contrary to what his sibling had assumed during their first clandestine encounters. His soul seemed to drift in a state of semi-consciousness, and memories would sometimes come to the surface, allowing Noa to relieve them again. When a vision of his past started to fade away, the sleeping prince would be left vaguely conscious for some time, before falling into a deep slumber once more, until Mokuba came to wake him up.

Noa forced himself to focus on what he has just relieved. He _hated_ that particular memory of his first encounter with his stepbrothers. Not only was he incredibly guilty about the way he had behaved towards Seto and Mokuba from the day they had met all the way up to the _incident_ , but he also remained puzzled about where that intense and seemingly unjustified hostility had come from. Almost ten years later, Noa was just as clueless when it came to understanding why seeing Seto for the first time had almost immediately driven him to hate the boy with such nefarious passion.

Sure, Seto looked vaguely familiar, but Noa had never been able to recall who exactly the brunette reminded him of. Even though he had been trapped in his crystalline prison for more than seven years now, and even with all the memories that he had relieved again and again, the former heir still had no rational explication for his feelings, and certainly no excuse for the many ways in which he had acted on them.

But Noa wasn’t giving up, forcing himself to go through his memories again and again, no matter how painful some of them were. He had a feeling that solving that mystery was of capital importance, that something was _terribly_ wrong about the situation and that if he didn’t find a way to fix it as quickly as possible, they would all be in danger. Him, Mokuba, Seto, the kingdom - everyone’s safety relied on him remembering something, someone who could have driven him to hate his adopted sibling so much.

And his instincts were also telling him that he didn’t have much time left.

* * *

“Are you sure, big brother?”

Seto’s eyes left his bed, where dozens of fabric samples were scattered, to rest on his little brother. For once, Mokuba was sitting calmly in an armchair near the bed: it was usually a nightmare to convince the boy to stay still for long period of times, but they had been there for a few hours now, and Mokuba hadn’t left his place.

“I am.” the future king nodded as he carefully handed Mokuba some of the textile coupons. “But I want you to tell me what you think.”

The younger prince delicately laid the small assortment of samples on his lap, before grabbing the one on top of the pile. Mokuba brought it to his eyes, scrupulously analyzing the piece of fabric’s azure hue. The color was somehow soothing, but it also felt strong without being too flashy. After his visual examination, the youngest heir let his fingers softly stroke the fabric, appreciating how smooth yet resistant the material felt against his skin.

In the end, Mokuba smiled at his brother before nodding and putting the textile sample at the bottom of the pile. Then, he grabbed the next piece of fabric and repeated the meticulous process.

Seto kept watching his little brother as he made his way through the pile he had given him. He had dedicated his afternoon to choosing the fabrics, colors and jewels that would be used for his coronation outfit: per tradition, the ceremonial garments worn by the future king on that day were to be as sumptuous as possible, but they also had to convey several messages.

First and foremost, Seto had to choose the colors he’d use for Aeternia’s new emblem. The royal coat-of-arms changed with each monarch: although its shape remained the same, each new sovereign modified it with his own choice of colors, motto and heraldic symbols.  
Then, the prince’s outfit had to include a cape embodied with his pledge towards Aeternia: a short text, written in the kingdom’s ancient language, which would list his promises to the people for the duration of his reign.  
The soon-to-be king also had to carefully choose the various pieces of jewelry he’d add to the ensemble, making sure every gemstone, every metal and every shape he used accurately reflected the core values he wanted to uphold during his regime, using Aeternia’s traditional meaning of each jewel.  
Finally, Seto was tasked to find seven figures he admired from Aeternia’s long and rich history, so miniatures of their portraits could be emblazoned on the lowest part of the crown he’d receive.

Gozaburo’s brusque decision hadn’t left his son with much time to think about so many details, and Seto had waited until the very last moment to answer his father’s requests so they could be transmitted to the court’s artisans. It wasn’t like him to postpone something, especially such an important task, and he felt a bit sorry for the artisans who would have an immense workload to deal with in so little time; but Seto had wanted to make sure he was absolutely certain of his decisions.

He knew that after the initial euphoria of his crowning, he would have to gain his subjects’ trust, especially with the state Gozaburo would leave him Aeternia in. And from the very beginning of his reign, Seto wanted his intentions to be clear: he would vow to put an end to useless wars, to protect his subjects from external and internal threats, to grant everyone access to health and education. The prince aspired to make his kingdom a haven of peace and culture, a country that could shine so bright it would blind the rest of the world, and he wanted to do so without the denizens having to pay too high a price.

Ever since Gozaburo had publicly announced his upcoming abdication, his oldest heir had spent hours thinking about the garments he wanted for the ceremony, furthering his already impressive knowledge of the kingdom’s history, learning about minute details of the traditional language of jewels, studying the meanings of colors and what they inspired in people. After hours and hours of intensive research and reflection, the prince had finally settled on something he was very pleased with, except on two aspects.

The first one was his motto. He had to accurately sum up his core values and the defining words of his future reign in simply two words he would be remembered by, regardless of whether he stayed true to them or not. Since it was the only thing that wasn’t directly part of his outfit, but that he had to open his investiture speech with, Seto had decided to save that matter for last, and he still hadn’t come up with anything yet. Thankfully, he still had time left before coronation day.

The second one was the colors he’d use for his coat-of-arms. From the beginning, Seto had been almost certain he’d choose his favorite colors, white and blue; but he had done his research nonetheless, making sure they truly fit him and the image he wanted to present to his people and to himself. Now, he was down to only a few hues of azure he had spent hours examining before settling on one.

After a long and throughout examination, Mokuba gathered the various samples lying on his lap and made his way to his brother, grinning all the while.

“I love it!” he exclaimed as he handed the pile to Seto. “I knew you’d go for those colors, and for silk and fur, but you’ve really chosen the prettiest hues.”  
“Thank you, Mokie.” the prince smiled as he gave his younger brother a hug.

Mokuba giggled as his arms tightened around the brunette’s waist; Seto hadn’t called him by that nickname in ages, and hearing it again reminded the boy of happier and simpler times, back when Seto’s smile wasn’t a rare sight.

“Isono, could you come closer, please?” the brunette asked, his tone serious again as he let Mokuba go.

Even though he was usually an expert at hiding his emotions, the man standing in the shadows of the prince’s chambers couldn’t help the surprised look on his face, but he quickly chased it to replace it with his usual, neutral expression.

“Of course, your Highness.” He nodded as he approached the bed, silent and discreet as always.

Isono was the closest person to a father figure Seto and Mokuba had – they absolutely refused to consider the man they were forced to call “father” as such. From the day the brothers had officially been adopted by Gozaburo, Isono had been assigned to the older boy as his protector. The brunette had treated him with nothing but disdain at first, which hadn’t surprised Isono in the least: after what the two siblings had gone through, Seto had learned not to trust anyone but himself and Mokuba.

But after spending so many years together, Seto had grown to enjoy his bodyguard’s company and to confide in him, little by little. Likewise, Isono had come to consider the boy as his son, and he had been pleased to see him turn from a prodigious but moody child into a mature prince ready to take his father’s place.  
Though Isono had sworn allegiance to King Gozaburo when he had taken his functions, the older man now considered Seto to be his real direct superior, and a relation of absolute trust had blossomed between the two men.

However, when Isono stopped right next to Seto, the prince gave him a sour look.

“My first order as a king will be to have you address me by my first name.”

Mokuba chuckled. No matter how close the two men had grown, Isono persisted to call the brunette by his title, even when they were on their own. The only time Mokuba had heard the bodyguard use Seto’s given name, his older brother hadn’t been conscious enough to hear it.  
The boy shuddered at that memory, and he did his best to focus on the present again.

“Tell me, Isono.” the heir grabbed the pile he had carefully put on his pillow, and handed it to his protector. “What do you think?”

Seto managed to catch Isono off-guard once more, but the older man hid his surprise just as quickly as he had before. He treated the hump he was handed as if it was extremely fragile, his fingertips making just enough contact with it to keep it from falling to the ground.

“Well… it’s not my place to say.” he answered after a moment of silent hesitation. “If it is your choice, and if prince Mokuba agrees, then-”  
“That’s not what I’m asking.” Seto furrowed his brows and crossed his arms in front of his chest, as he always did when he was starting to get upset. “I would like to know your _own_ opinion.”

Isono’s eyes started to shine delicately, and the only reason the two heirs understood he was moved to the point of tears was because they had spent the majority of their lives with him. Nothing in his posture betrayed the bodyguard’s honored and moved elation, and he even managed to dry his eyes just by blinking slightly faster than usual.

Mokuba didn’t really listen to the commentary Isono provided; he agreed with Seto’s decisions, and they were only discussing about the emotions some colors seemed to bring out in people. The young boy preferred to savor the proximity of his beloved brother and the man he considered his real father, and to daydream about how he and Isono would stay by Seto’s side for as long as they could and help him mend Gozaburo’s wrongdoings.

* * *

The small clock on the mantle of the chimney rung three times, and a sleepy form emerged from the pile of pillows in front of the fire. Ryou rubbed his eyes and jumped to his feet, quickly combing his long and messt white hair with his fingers as he trotted towards the door on the other side of the large room that served both as his bedroom and his magic laboratory.

As usual, right as he stopped in front of the door, he heard four quick knocks resound on the other side of the thick wooden surface. Unable to refrain the giddy smile that blossomed on his lips, Ryou slowly opened the door, trying to do as little noise as possible but doing his best to quickly allow his visitor inside.

Said visitor dashed through the opening as soon as it got wide enough for him to do so. Ryou barely waited until the door had closed behind the welcome intruder to throw his arms around his guest’s neck, catching him off-guard.

“I missed you, Hiroto!”  
“I missed you too, Ryou.”

Hiroto Honda, an elite member of the Royal Guard, wrapped his arms around Ryou’s frail body and held him as closely as he could, his mouth curving in a smile that mirrored the mage’s elated grin. For a moment, the two of them remained still in their embrace, content to simply enjoy the other’s presence after being deprived of it for so long.

Ryou silently noticed that since their last clandestine meeting, Hiroto had gained a small cicatrix under his right eye and another on his forehead, but nothing worrying. He was more concerned with the heavy bags under the guard’s dark eyes, betraying his guest’s exhaustion.  
Hiroto kept looking at Ryou the way one contemplates a breathtaking painting masterpiece, taking in every single detail of the spellcaster’s angelic face, remarking the teen’s usually mischievous eyes seemed a bit duller than usual.

Ryou was the one to break the moment, moving his hands to Hiroto’s cheeks and pulling his lover in for a chaste kiss. As always when Ryou gave him an unexpected peck on the lips, the guard’s face flushed crimson, and Ryou broke the kiss with a soft giggle.

“How are you doing? Training has been rough, huh?”  
“Yeah…” the guard sighed, moving his arms to give his boyfriend some room. “I don’t get it. Gozaburo has us training like we’re preparing for war again, when there’s the coronation just in a few weeks. It’s not like he’s gonna start another war before abdicating, right?”  
“I wouldn’t put it past him.” the mage sighed as he made his way to the hearth’s welcoming warmth, Hiroto following him closely. “It would be fitting, actually, for such a belligerent leader to want to go out in a blaze of glory.”  
“It would be more of a bloodbath.”  
“It’s all the same to him.” Ryou shrugged as he sat down in front of the fire. “As long as the blood his useless wars spill isn’t his, he treats it like a trophy.”

Anxiety swelling in his chest, Hiroto plopped down next to his lover and slid his arm around the teen’s shoulders, holding him close. In those hectic and changing times, he was grateful to have Ryou’s reassuring presence be an anchor he could hold on to.

“I’m really glad someone’s taking his place. What he asks us to do is not what I’ve signed up for.”

Ryou turned his neck so he could properly look at his boyfriend. The soldier’s eyes seemed like they were looking at something Ryou couldn’t see, something both far away and impossibly close. He hated to see that haunted expression creep back on Hiroto’s face, no matter how many times the spellcaster had managed to make it disappear.  
Ryou loathed King Gozaburo for a _lot_ of reasons, but the first one was probably to have broken someone as kind and strong as Hiroto Honda.

“I know.” Ryou nodded as he let his head fall on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “It’s almost over.”  
“Yeah.” Hiroto’s voice came out a bit strangled, and he blinked back a few tears, holding Ryou even closer as his free hand started to idly play with one of the mage’s ivory locks. “And when that demon is gone, we’ll finally be able to see each other without having to hide.”

Ryou nodded dreamily, and his heart started to beat faster as he went through the long list of things he wanted to do with Hiroto in public. Hold his hand, ride on Hiroto’s beloved horse, go to the capital’s weekly farmers' market, kiss him during a moonlight walk on the beach – all those things he had gone through over and over mentally, and that were so close to become true.

Royal Mages were allowed – and even encouraged - to study and practice magic as much as they wanted to, whether it be healing spells, dark magic or even taboo practices like necromancy, as long as they abided by a few rules. Ryou didn’t mind the majority of them, since they were only safeguards to make sure there wasn’t any insane mage causing mayhem and destruction in the palace or raising an army of undead monsters. But one of them seemed like it had been designed for the sole purpose of making his already monotone and lonely existence even more dull and reclusive.

Royal Mages weren’t allowed to have _any_ romantic relationship, platonic or not.

* * *

If Shizuka hadn’t been so thrilled at the perspective of the royal parade that was about to happen, Katsuya would have happily spent the day in bed.

It wasn’t like the teen hated festivities, especially if for once even the most underprivileged denizens like his sister and him were allowed and even encouraged to take part in them. Plus, since a few days before the event, it had been like life had been injected into the capital: the balconies were adorned with flowers and banners of varying shades of blue and white, the colors Prince Seto seemed to prefer wearing. The streets seemed cleaner, the people happier and livelier, the children even more carefree and joyful, and rumor had it even bandits, outlaws and the scum of society had slowed their usual business. Small stalls peppered the city’s streets, selling sweets and pastries, artisanal ale and freshly baked pies, toys and trinkets, jewelry and clothes.

In other circumstances, Katsuya would have been elated to see the streets filled with merry travelers and content denizens. He would have eagerly spent his salary on all the food stalls to taste specialties from all over the kingdom, he would have helped Mai decorate the Harpie’s Den facade with giddy anticipation, he would have been the first to suggest they arrive early at the parade to make sure Shizuka and him had a good view of the spectacle.

But the blonde couldn’t bring himself to pretend like everything was fine again, like all the problems that had begun in the last months had vanished just because their soon-to-be king had said so. Maybe it was because of his past, maybe it was because he had spent several years listening to Keith’s virulent anti-royalty diatribes, but Katsuya had trouble believing that everything was going to change just because Gozaburo’s son was going to take his place.

If Prince Seto did correct his father’s mistakes and did his best to deserve his subjects’ trust, then yes, Katsuya would party all night long every year during Aeternia’s national day festivities. But until then, the teen didn’t want to blindly trust a man who had been raised by the bloodthirsty warlord pretending to have his people’s best interests at heart.

But Shizuka had been excited for the event since Anzu had told the Jounouchi siblings about it, and for the sake of his little sister, Katsuya pretended to share everyone’s merriment. They had gone through so many hardships that the blonde categorically refused to take that joy away from her, regardless of his own feelings on the subject. Besides, the days leading up to the event had been the occasion to spend his free time with her, trying food at the stalls when something caught her attention and made her mouth water, dancing at improvised open air balls, playing tag like they were kids again.

True to his word, Katsuya had asked Mai to help Shizuka choose a new dress to attend the parade and accessories to go with it, and Anzu had even lent some of her make-up to the young girl. The morning of the parade, Shizuka had carefully put her dress on, making sure not to wrinkle a single millimeter of the shimmering fabric. Just as meticulously, the young girl had applied make-up to her face the way Anzu had taught her, making sure not to use too much, highlighting her round cheeks and her soft, dark eyes. Finally, Shizuka had taken her time to braid her hair, creating an elaborate hairdo she had adorned with a few white ribbons.

When Katsuya had seen his beloved sister step out of her room and twirl in front of him, her dress’ white tulle petticoat floating under the delicate azure fabric of the skirt, when he had seen how carefully she had sewn tiny pearls and embroidered flowers on the dress’ plain corset, when he had noticed how bright her eyes shone above her rosy cheeks and how elegantly she had styled her hair, he hadn’t regretted his decision for a single second.

Now, the Jounouchi siblings were standing next to each other in the middle of the crowd, Shizuka tightly holding her brother’s hand. Thanks to Shizuka’s smiles and Katsuya’s threatening aura, they had managed to secure a place in the front row, with only a thick metallic chain separating them from the road. And even with his reservations and doubts, the blonde couldn’t help but be a bit contaminated by the overflowing joy radiating from all the people around him.

Just as Anzu had promised, and just as Shizuka had dreamed, the parade was a breathtaking show. The dancer had explained that the prince would be in the last third of the long procession, which left them with plenty to enjoy before finally seeing the man who was to become their new sovereign.

Katsuya only had a faint idea of what Prince Seto looked like, thanks to some drawings and caricatures he had seen in newspapers. The blonde wasn’t really interested in the woes and tribulations of the nobles or the royal family; Shizuka, on the other hand, was quite knowledgeable about Aeternia’s history, and she especially knew a lot about the Kaiba dynasty. She had inherited that passion from their childhood friend Hiroto, who was passionate about their country’s history.

As excited as she was to attend such a wonderful spectacle, Katsuya knew that what his sister was the more excited for was to _finally_ see Prince Seto in the flesh. Ever since King Gozaburo had officially announced his upcoming abdication in favor of his son, people had grown curious about the heir who was seldom seen at public events. And even though he loved his sister more than anything in the world, Katsuya had grown a bit tired of hearing his sister repeat all the good things she had heard about the prince: that he was handsome, that he was a powerful mage, that he was the smartest man in the kingdom. According to her, and to the majority of girls her age, Prince Seto was a perfect angel sent by the heavens to save them all.

The young girl was a romantic at heart, and she had devoured all the romance novels their neighborhood’s tiny library had to offer; Katsuya was almost certain that even if Shizuka knew attending the parade wouldn’t end up with the prince stopping his horse to sweep her off her feet and carry her, bridal-style, to his castle, the young girl was giddy at the idea of seeing a real-life prince charming.

As the procession kept making its way through the city’s main street, Katsuya stopped paying attention to the various performances taking place. The jugglers and their fire torches, the acrobats and their impossible motions and contorsions, the dancers and their mesmerizing ballets, everything became a colorful blur as a foreign emotion swept over him, an unknown feeling that pounded against his temples and clamped his heart between searing claws. His mind started to race, as if his thoughts swirled at an impossible speed while the rest of the world slowed down.

“Look, big brother! It’s him! It’s Prince Seto!!”

His sister’s enthusiastic cries and the way she squeezed almost painfully on his hand brought Katsuya back to reality, his head still spinning a bit and a few cold sweat drops trickling down his forehead. The blonde turned his head to the left, and amidst the crowd’s ear shattering clapping and yelling, he heard the faint noise of trumpets announcing the Kaiba heir’s arrival.

Soldiers preceded him, their armors perfectly polished and shimmering under the sunlight. Their steps were synchronized, and their expressions neutral as they kept walking in front of a man perched atop a gorgeous white stallion – Prince Seto, no doubt about it. From where he stood, and since the prince was still a bit far away, Katsuya could barely see his face, but as soon as he laid eyes on the figure proudly saluting the hundreds of people that had gathered in his honor, _something_ broke loose inside of him.

Acting on an impulse he’d never felt before, almost as if his body wasn’t obeying him anymore, Katsuya let go of his sister’s hand and ignored her confused and then panicked screams. Feeling lighter and faster than ever, as free as when he was one of Keith Howard’s men and the capital’s streets were his playground, Katsuya jumped over the metallic barrier separating the crowd from the parade. Several startled performs tried to move towards him, but before they could even attempt to stop him, Katsuya was gone, easily dodging the hands reaching towards him.

Two of the soldiers begun to dash towards him, but the teen almost immediately reacted by speeding up so he could get momentum and jump above them in a perfect somersault, landing gracefully behind the startled soldiers. Adrenaline coursing through his body, Katsuya still had no idea what was pushing him to race towards the prince like that; he didn’t have any desire to confront him, or to harm him in any way. He had regained some sort of control over his body, and he still had no clue why he kept going, but he did anyways, pushed by a powerful force coming from deep inside his being.

Katsuya felt magic being directed his way, but in a motion that surprised even himself, he slipped to the side and rolled forwards, avoiding the attack and letting it hit one of the soldiers that reached for him. The blonde didn’t even have the time to wonder how he had felt the magic heading towards him before it stuck him; there was one last soldier standing between him and the prince, and Katsuya took him out with a swift kick behind the man’s shins, where thanks to his experience in Keith’s gang he knew the Royal Guards' armor was more fragile.

To Katsuya, it felt like several minutes had passed since he had let go of Shizuka’s hands, but only a few seconds had elapsed, explaining why the teen had managed to break through the security net and avoid the attack of one of the king’s mages who had been hiding in the crowd.

Out of breath, his body shivering in physical exhaustion and his brain finally slowing down, Katsuya found himself standing right in front of the prince’s ivory horse, and he took a moment to gather himself before lifting his eyes up so he could get a proper look at Prince Seto.

Katsuya Jounouchi wasn’t the kind of person to be easily stunned, but when his eyes locked with Seto Kaiba’s, the blonde found himself frozen in place and unable to do anything but stare in shock as his already thumping heart started beating faster and he felt silent tears that were and weren't his roll down his cheeks.

Prince Seto’s eyes were several hues lighter than ultramarine, and he didn’t have long blond hair cascading down his back, but there was no mistaking the confident and magnetic aura he radiated, no misreading the way his eyebrows furrowed in perplexed annoyance, no confusing how proudly he carried himself as he was riding a horse.

Katsuya was looking at the man who visited his dreams every night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT A TWIST!!  
> Do you have an idea why Jounouchi could be dreaming about Kaiba? Feel free to share in the comments! I'd love to see your theories :D
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this update :) I was especially happy to showcase Ryou and Honda!! They're a very sweet couple, but there's so little content about them... so I made some myself!  
> I was also super hyped to introduce Isono!!! I love him and wanted to give him some "screen"time!!  
> And Valon showed up too... what could he be up to? Stay tuned to find out!
> 
> Here's the link if you want to see what music I thought would go well with some parts, and if you want tidbits of info on the chapter :) https://maple-princess.blogspot.com/2020/09/cendrillon-chapter-3-few-notes.html#more  
> Thank you so much for the bookmarks, kudos and reviews <3 it means the world to me and encourages me to keep writing!!  
> See you next week (next Saturday, hopefully) for the next chapter!!


	5. Fourth strike ~ Moving shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> Wow, it's been over a month... I deeply apologize for leaving without any explanation and for the subsequent and sudden hiatus.  
> It turns out that my 6th year of med school is even more taxing than I envisioned, both as a doctor in training on the field and as a student. I've taken some time away from the internet to take care of myself, try and see how I can study more efficiently, sleep, play Crash 4, start Osomatsu-san's newest season and start drawing again. I should be doing better now.  
> Once again, I apologize for the long cliffhanger and I hope today's update will make up for it... 
> 
> I won't stick to a strict "updates every weekend schedule" anymore, so expect a new chapter every 5-15 days according to my free time, ability to focus and energy levels. The first half of December will probably be very tough to pull through for me, but the second half will leave me with more free time, so I hope to finish this story before 2020 is over! 
> 
> Without further ado, here is Moving shadows. Please, enjoy!

_He tries to get up, but as soon as he pushes on his foot in an attempt to prop his body up, his calf screams in pain and he has no choice but to let himself fall on the ground, a frustrated and undignified whine leaving his lips. Blood drips down his chin, tiny crimson droplets splashing on the front of his dark cape._

_“Don’t try to move.” a voice instructs behind him, concerned yet trying its best to sound calm. “You’re badly injured.”  
_ _“I know.” He hisses, and he tries to get up once more, only to be stopped by two strong hands pushing down on his shoulders._

_He painfully lifts his eyes upwards, and under his sweat-slicked blonde locks, he sees his redhead companion looking sternly at him. His face is covered in soot and dust, and there’s an angry slash in the middle of his left cheek; but his chartreuse gaze is as determined as ever, and it sends a shiver down his spine._

_“You’re not going anywhere, unless you want to mess up your leg so bad not even the best of healers will be able to fix it.”  
_ _“My leg is nothing compared to-”  
_ _“I said,_ stay there _.”  
_ _“The Empress is still inside!” his throat burns as he shouts, his composure eroding with each passing second._

_The pressure on his shoulders rises, and no matter how hard he tries, he can’t fight back against it. The redhead has never been able to best him when it comes to sword fight and magic duels, but his raw strength is unrivaled. Blood-curling screams echo in the distance, his ultramarine eyes fall shut, and for the first time in his life, he’s filled with fear._

_“I know. I’ll go get her by my own.” the auburn knight announces as his right hand leaves the other man’s shoulder to gently stoke his blemished face.  
_ _“You can’t!” his eyes shoot wide open, and he doesn’t expect the other’s gaze to have softened while remaining blindingly fierce.  
_ _“Of course I can. She’s our Empress, after all.” he affirms, his sad smile managing to shine with insolent youth and affected confidence. “And I know how important Kisara is to you.”  
_ _“No, don’t-”  
_ _“I promise I’ll bring her back, safe and sound.” the redhead cuts before pressing a soft kiss on the corner of his lips. “I swear it on my life.”  
_ _“NO!”_

_But the other man ignores him, his torn cape swirling as he swiftly gets up and starts running towards the flaming ruins of what was, until very recently, the Imperial Palace. He extends a hand, the cobalt gleam of his armored arm hopelessly reaching for the scarlet shape running away from him. It takes the third knight wrapping his arms around him and holding him back to stop him from injuring himself further trying to get up._

_He can’t do anything but watch as the redhead raises his sword high, a crimson bolt striking it and making the weapon glow bright as it turns into a longer, thinner shape. The auburn knight slams his metamorphosed weapon into the ground, and a scorching ripple of energy flies from it, its unpleasant warmth hitting everyone in a large radius, including the two companions he’s left behind._

_As soon as he’s struck by the wave of disagreeable energy, the redhead’s shape turns into a blur, and the knight moves impossibly fast towards the castle, easily dodging falling debris and shapeless monsters reaching for him, and-_

Seto blinked, and the vision was gone as instantly as it had appeared. But the stranger he had come to know so much wasn’t gone, although he was now standing in front of him instead of running away from him. He had dark brown eyes instead of chartreuse irises, his hair was shorter and blond, and his carnation was slightly more tanned; but aside from that, the real life version of his nightly visitor had the exact same determined expression, he stood exactly as proud and angry, and he made the prince’s heart quiver all the same.

For an instant, the world was nothing but Seto Kaiba and Katsuya Jounouchi looking at each other, their eyes locked and unblinking as they felt a surge of strangely foreign and awfully familiar emotions course through every fiber of their being, their cheeks starting to glisten with tears, their breath taken away and their bodies taunt in apprehension and in an uncontrollable desire to reach out for the other, to leap in his arms, to hold him tight and never let him go.

But the moment shattered when royal guards reached for the blonde commoner, and only failed to grab his arms when the prince conjured a barrier around him without even thinking about it. And once the fleeting and intense impression of déjà-vu dissipated, Seto forced himself to focus back on the present, on the reality of what was happening- that is to say, someone had gotten through the parade’s security net and probably would have been able to attack him if he hadn’t stopped in his tracks. Seto would have emerged victorious of that assault, of course, but the issue remained the same.

Nonetheless, he left the protective barrier around the young denizen, wanting to interrogate him himself before he was taken away.

“Who are you?” the brunette asked dryly as he straightened his back. “And how _dare_ you disturb your prince’s procession?”

Katsuya blinked, gathering his spirits. Truth be told, he had absolutely _no idea_ why he had dashed so feverishly towards the prince: it was as if something had overridden his brain, some sort of forgotten and mysterious instinct urging him to get as close as possible to the future king he knew almost nothing about. But the teen knew that saying that would not only make him sound insane, but also make him seem incredibly suspicious.

However, he managed to compose himself promptly once he reminded himself that the man in front of him, standing haughtily on his white stallion, was King Gozaburo’s son. A feeling of injustice grabbed him by the throat, and ignoring his wet cheeks, Katsuya spoke loudly:

“My name is Katsuya Jounouchi, and I’m one of your future subjects, _Your Highness_.”

The last two words were dripping with pretend politeness, and their harshness didn’t escape the prince. Around them, a dreadful silence had fallen over the crowd, everyone looking in fear and amazement at the teenager who was defying Aeternia’s soon-to-be king. Soldiers were circling Katsuya, their weapons aimed at him as closely as the barrier around him allowed.

Seto’s eyes narrowed with hostility, but he let the blonde continue.

“Like many of the people who came to applaud you today and spectate your magnificent show, I come from a very humble background. My father was a cook, and my mother worked in the ambrosia fields.”

The use of past tense didn’t escape the brunette, and he couldn’t help the tinge of sympathy he felt towards the other man who couldn’t have been older than himself.  
Katsuya was painfully aware of the hundreds of eyes watching him intently, but he didn’t let his anxiety and unexplainable sorrow stop him. Now that he had started his speech, there was no stopping the accusing words asking for nothing more than to be spat at Prince Seto.

“One day, she came back home and tried to kill my little sister because she thought she was possessed by a demon.” the teen’s bleak tone surprised himself. He ignored the tears burning at the corners of his eyes and kept going: “then she started seeing things that weren’t there, and then she tried to claw her eyes out so she wouldn’t see them anymore.”

The audience’s silence felt heavier with each passing second. A lot of the attendees had a loved one suffering from Ambrosia syndrome, and Katsuya’s account was hitting too close to home.

“So even if she was always screaming in pain because her whole body hurt, we had to strap her down to her bed.” the blonde had no idea where he found the courage to keep going; maybe it was coming from his own inner rage, maybe it was from the disgusting annoyance and painful kindness he felt when looking straight into Prince Seto’s eyes. “But we didn’t have to do that for long, because she quickly stopped being able to move, to talk, or even to whimper. All she could do was lay there, she was in more pain that you could ever imagine and she couldn’t even complain about it.”

Seto was starting to grow extremely uncomfortable at Katsuya’s story. He had heard accounts of Ambrosia syndrome cases several times, some even more detailed and precise than the blonde’s, but what was achingly tearing his heart was the blazing fire in the teen’s eyes. He knew that haunting and terrifying look, for he had seen it countless times when looking in a mirror: Katsuya’s entire being seemed to be consumed by hatred and anger more and more as he kept going.

“She died after two months of unimaginable agony. Tell me, _Your Majesty_ , do you have any idea of how many cases of Ambrosia syndrome have been reported in only the past month, huh? And if only it was the only thing us poor commoners had to worry about!” Katsuya barked a joyless laugh, unable to stop himself from spitting venom at the brunette. “Do stories of people being assaulted by shadow monsters reach your fancy castle? Or do you and your father spend your days plotting your newest war and deciding what plague to unleash on the world?!”

Something snapped in Seto when Katsuya all but shouted his last accusation. An insidious rage almost strangled him at the idea of him and Gozaburo seeing eye to eye and scheming together. He was _nothing_ like his monster of an adoptive father, he had _never_ been, and long ago, he swore he would _never_ be.

If lingering and haunting feelings had still been clawing at his being as Katsuya kept rambling, they were now entirely forgotten, replaced by a blind and cold furor and raw animosity piercing at the prince’s heart; and even though the blonde had grown increasingly accusatory and unhinged during his speech, he couldn’t help but be transpierced by fear when Seto’s unforgiving glare locked on to him.

“Katsuya Jounouchi.” the teen’s name was thrown at him like an insult. “Although I have nothing but sincere compassion for your hardships, I won’t let you, or anyone else for that matter, accuse me of ignoring my people’s suffering, and I _especially_ won’t allow you to imply I’m actively plotting their demise.”

Once more, for a moment, there was nothing but Seto and Katsuya looking at each other without blinking, but the vivid visions and phantom feelings they had once been frozen with had been replaced by ferocious hatred and searing contempt.  
Then, as suddenly as he had summoned it, the prince destroyed the barrier surrounding the commoner, leaving his guards to violently grab the teen by his arms.

“Take him to the City Guard. Captain Crawford knows how to deal with loud mouthed, rabid cretins like him.”

Ignoring the tight hold the royal guards’ strong wrists had on him, discounting the sharp blades aimed at his neck, not caring about how frenzied and delirious he might look to the crowd or to the prince, Katsuya kicked and tried to punch, screaming a last warning to the brunette before he was dragged away:

“You can send me to prison if you like, Your Majesty! But you’ll have to face the consequences of the Kaiba dynasty’s contempt for your people all the same!”

As the guards and a still thrashing Katsuya disappeared in the aghast crowd, Seto’s dry cheeks were slightly flushed with unfathomable anger and puzzling betrayal.

* * *

As he reached the ebony door, Yuugi took a deep breath and finally managed to stop fiddling nervously with the long golden chain holding a heavy, polished sugilite gem close to his sternum. However, he couldn’t bring himself to knock on the door just yet. It wasn’t that he was anxious to enter his mentor’s study, on the contrary: he had been studying under Atem’s tutelage for over seven years, and the two spellcasters had grown close during that time.

The reason for the seventeen year old’s anxiety was tucked in one of his robe’s inner pockets, and although it was only a small stack of carefully folded papers, it felt as heavy as a rock, and Yuugi was almost afraid to touch it. But he didn’t have any other choice, and he forced himself to take it out of its textile confines, the letter’s cheap paper seemingly burning his fingers. He didn’t need to check the letter’s contents one last time before discussing them with Atem: Yuugi had read the missive so many times since receiving it that he knew it by heart, down to every crossed out word and misspelled terms.

Finally, the apprentice knocked on the door, louder than intended. Atem answered almost immediately, and the magician’s deep voice comforted Yuugi, even if just a little.

As Yuugi stepped inside his mentor’s study, he was immediately assaulted by the strong and acrid smell of sulfur. He reflexively put one of his long sleeves in front of his nose, shielding it from the unpleasant stench of the mixture Atem had been working on for several days now, one that he hoped would slow down the insidious progression of the Ambrosia syndrome in patients that hadn’t reached the terminal phases of the illness yet.

“Hello, Yuugi.” the dark-skinned man, dressed in his usual white, purple and golden robes, smiled when his apprentice reached him and bowed politely.  
“Good morning, Atem.” the teen answered, his voice muffled by the heavy fabric shielding his lower face. “I hope I’m not disturbing you, but… I have something important to tell you.”

After adding a pinch of bright green powder in the cauldron gently bubbling between them, Atem nodded and walked to his disciple’s side, his amethyst eyes darkening with concern. Yuugi was as talented a magician as he was easy to read, and his inner turmoil was clear on his youthful features.

“Well, since it’s rare to see you this early in the morning, I figure it must be particularly urgent. I’m all ears.” the older man comforted Yuugi as he headed towards a corner of the romm, one with two comfortable seats.

Feeling slightly better thanks to his mentor’s reassuring aura, Yuugi plopped down on the seat closest to one of the study’s small windows, while Atem sat in front of him. The apprentice's fingers played one last time with the source of his torments, and the slightly scrunched sheets of paper felt as heavy as lead when he handed them to Atem.

“This is Katsuya’s latest letter.” he informed the experienced mage as Atem curiously flipped through the small stack. “I received it two days ago and read it almost immediately, but… something is really worrying me in the last third or so.”

Yuugi tried his best to ignore the remorse biting at him as his mentor nodded and begun to read the messy handwriting covering the last pieces of paper, politely ignoring the letter’s beginning. The mage’s apprentice had been corresponding with his best friend ever since he had left the capital to live with Atem, and he couldn’t help but feel like he was betraying Katsuya’s trust by letting his mentor intrude on their private exchanges.

But, he kept telling himself as his anxiety levels rose higher with each minute the two magicians spent in heavy silence, he didn’t have much choice. Katsuya had been his first friend, and their bond had only grown stronger in the twelve years they’d known each other, even though they hadn’t been able to meet in person for the last four years. Yuugi treasured his friendship with Katsuya as dearly as he treasured his bond with Atem, and he would go to great lengths to protect the blonde, even if it meant betraying his trust.

“I see.” Atem nodded once he was finished reading, and Yuugi shivered when he caught a hint of fear in his teacher’s expression. The mage handed his protégé’s letter back to him, and Yuugi clung to the thin stack of paper as if it was a lifeline. “It must have been a difficult decision to allow me to intrude on your correspondence, especially on something that seems so important and intimate to Katsuya, but you did the right thing.”  
“Is… is it that bad?” Yuugi asked, not enjoying Atem’s ominous tone in the slightest. 

The powerful mage remained silent for a while, his arms crossed and his eyes looking distantly at the ceiling.

To the average person, nothing in Katsuya’s letter was particularly worrying. Sure, the young man talked about some of the incidents that had occurred in the capital, but the two magicians were very aware of the shadows that had begun to terrorize the population and of the illness that was infecting and killing more and more people every day.

In fact, what had alarmed Yuugi and tormented him to the point of seeking help from his mentor was hidden in the seemingly lighter parts of Katsuya’s missive, and most people reading the concerning paragraphs wouldn’t think twice about them. Thankfully, Yuugi had spent the past seven years being trained by one of Aeternia’s most powerful and knowledgeable sorcerers, and something in the very personal paragraphs Katsuya always ended his letters with had immediately rang alarm bells in his mind.

However, Atem couldn’t be sure of exactly how dire the situation was, or of how sinister Katsuya’s future, and even Aeternia’s fate in the worst-case scenario, could be. There was only one way to find out.

“I can’t tell you for sure.” the mage honestly answered Yuugi. The two spellcasters shared a deep bond, and they always did their best to be as truthful as they could with the other. “I think it would be best for us to meet with Katsuya directly.”

Yuugi nodded, although he couldn’t help the dreadful sensation that washed over him, tainting his joy at the perspective of seeing his best friend in the flesh again after so many years. How would he justify his and Atem’s investigations?  
But before the teen could torment himself further, Atem’s hand gently came to rest on top of his own.

“Don’t worry. I don’t intend to bombard him with personal questions about what he told you in his letters.” Atem smiled reassuringly at his student, having sensed his inner turmoil. “Besides, I’d be honored to meet him. From what you told me, he’s a wonderful person.”  
“He truly is!” Yuugi agreed, feeling lighter all of a sudden. “I didn’t even think about it that way… I’d love for you two to meet each other.”

Once more, his mentor had managed to ease his worries and clear his mind, and Yuugi smiled in relief and gratitude. However, the moment was short lived, as Atem stood up and reached for a shelf filled with ancient tomes and grimoires, from where he retrieved a small, worn envelope.

“You’re not the only one who received concerning mail recently, Yuugi.” Atem announced as he returned to his seat and handed the envelope to the younger spellcaster, who eyed it curiously. “This arrived yesterday evening.”

There was no address on front of the envelope – only Atem’s name and title. The slim parcel was damaged at the edges and smelled faintly of ashes, leading Yuugi to assume it had reached them after quite a bumpy road. When the young mage flipped it, he was surprised to discover there was no name, distinctive seal or address on the other side: the envelope had been closed with a simple wax seal who bore no emblem or crest.

“You’ll tell me what you think about it when you’re done reading it, but I think meeting Katsuya won’t be the only thing we’ll do in the capital.”

* * *

“Oh, Katsuya, my boy… and to say you had been doing so well!”

It took all of the blonde’s will not to look away as Pegasus Crawford, on the other side of the desk, feigned heartbreak with his usual theatrics. Katsuya’s arms were still sore all over from where the royal guards had been grabbing him, and the handcuffs tightly clasped around his wrists were only adding to his general discomfort.

“I know, Captain Crawford.” he grumbled, just as unhappy as the officer to find himself under arrest once more.  
“You’ve been on your best behavior for a few years now, why did you have to act like such a barbarian all of a sudden? And on today, of all days!”  
“It’s not my fault our future king doesn’t bring out the best in me.”

Pegasus sighed and tutted, as if he were dealing with a petulant child. It only managed to make Katsuya roll his eyes; even though the captain of the City Guard didn’t get on his nerves as much as he used to, he was still too condescending for Katsuya’s taste.

“Oh please, _you_ of all people should know to give people a chance.”  
“I’d be more inclined to “give him a chance” if he didn’t get so prissy when someone points out what’s wrong in his kingdom!” the teen defended himself, not liking Pegasus’s comparison in the slightest. “I mean, as a prince and future king, you shouldn’t get upset so easily, right?”  
“It’s not my place to criticize Prince Seto’s behavior.” the officer shook his head, silver strands swaying a bit around his delicate features. “However, it is my place and even my duty to criticize and punish yours, my dear Katsuya.”  
“I didn’t do anything illegal!” the blonde protested. “I just-”  
“Interrupted a ceremonial procession, assaulted a member of the Royal Guard, disrespected a member of the royal family and resisted arrest.” Crawford enumerated, counting on his slender fingers for emphasis. “Nothing illegal, really?”

Katsuya’s jaw hung open for a few seconds, before he closed his mouth and angrily huffed, turning his head away from Pegasus’ smug grin. Everything had happened so fast; he hadn’t truly thought back on what had happened before locking eyes with Seto, and he had been so overrun by his own emotions during their exchange that he hadn’t even noticed how disrespectful he might have sounded.

“You know, if our king knew how rude one of his subjects had been towards his heir, he would have you immediately beheaded.” Pegasus spoke after a long moment of silence. “But you’re lucky, Katsuya, because his Majesty won’t be the one deciding of your punishment. As stated by the law, you are to be held in custody until Prince Seto himself decides of your fate.”  
“Oh great!” the blonde laughed joylessly. “So I get to live a few hours more before _he_ decides to behead me! How magnanimous!”  
“Don’t jump to conclusions.” Pegasus wagged his index at Katsuya as if he were scolding a brat. “Our beloved prince isn’t as partial to the death penalty as his father. Now, come on, let’s bring you to your cell.”

Ignoring his prisoner’s death glare, Crawford motioned to the two officers standing behind Katsuya to help him up.

“I can stand up on my own just fine.” The teen protested, shaking their hands away from his arms. “And I won’t run away, you know me.”  
“Oh, yes, I _do_ know you, and that’s why I’m not taking any chances. But if you promise to be a good boy, then-”  
“Just walk me to my cell.”  
“No need to be so curt, Katsuya. We’re in no hurry.”

Taking a deep breath and doing his best to forget about Crawford and his subordinates’ presence, Katsuya stood up, and when the small group left the guard captain’s office, he started walking towards the stairs. He knew the station’s layout by heart, thanks to how many times he had been forced to visit it during his earlier teenagehood.

The four men walked in silence down the stairs until they reached the building’s basement level, and Pegasus took the lead. As they marched down the last steps, the air temperature dropped slightly, and Katsuya couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran all over his body. There were ten cells on each side of the level’s central corridor, just as the blonde remembered, and a quick glance in each of them as they walked further and further away from the staircase taught him they were all occupied.

“Sadly, some people are nasty enough to try and rob houses while their inhabitants are enjoying the festivities our prince has graciously organized.” Crawford sighed as he caught Katsuya’s movements. “How low one can sink, I wonder… thanks to all those scoundrels, I’m afraid I won’t be able to give you your own cell, you’ll have to share.”  
“It’s fine.” the teen shrugged. “If I survived the last half-hour with you, I’m pretty sure I can deal with anybody.”  
“How nice.” the captain groaned, and Katsuya snickered, pleased to have finally upset the officer. “Well, I guess I just have to return your kindness, hmm? I’m going to give you the _perfect_ roommate.”

As he let his ominous promise hang in the air, Crawford stopped in front of the last cell on the right side of the corridor, an affably phony smile on his thin lips. Curious, Katsuya looked through the cell door’s bars as one of the other guards removed his handcuffs, and even though the place’s lights were quite dim, there was no mistaking who was the man lying down on the cell’s flimsy bench.

“Are you kidding me?!” he groaned, feeling his face flushing in angry annoyance.  
“Wakey wakey, Mr Howard!” Pegasus sang as he rammed a baton against the door, earning various groans from other prisoners. “Look who came for a visit!”

Keith rose up from his bed, and although he walked towards the door, he saw who exactly Pegasus was talking about before reaching him.

“Are you fucking serious, Crawford?” the older blonde’s face twisted in what Katsuya guessed was disgust.  
“I’m always serious, Mr Howard. Now, you two play nice.”

Pegasus’ subordinates brusquely opened the door and unceremoniously threw their young charge inside the cell, sending him to collide against Keith. The bandit loudly swore and shoved his former underling away, but even though his gesture was rough and he was obviously as displeased with the situation as his new cellmate, Katsuya noticed his anger seemed more directed at Pegasus than at him.

“Now, you two play nice. See you later!” the captain grinned as he waved at the prisoners before leaving, his two guards in tow.  
“Gods, I hate him.” Keith mumbled before sitting on the old wooden bench resting against one of the walls.

There was a moment of silence as Katsuya walked towards the wall opposite Keith, but then he quickly opened the hostilities.

“What are you doing here?” Katsuya all but spat as he stood as close to the wall as possible.  
“I could ask you the same question, blondie.” the older man smirked, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Except I won’t, because I heard some idiots talk their heads off about it for way too long. Gotta say, since you were so insistent on having turned into a proper and honest gentleman the other day, didn’t expect you to run your mouth off to the future king.”  
“He deserved it.” Katsuya grit his teeth, his eyes narrowing when his answer earned a laugh from his former leader.  
“Hah! “He deserved it!”” the bandit mimicked Katsuya’s voice, adding exaggerated childish inflections to it. “What did he say, then? Did the mean rich boy insult your little sister?”  
“Why do you keep talking about her?!”

Katsuya’s fists curled painfully. His day had been awful enough, and he didn’t need Keith to try his best to make it even worse.

“Because it’s way too easy to piss you off.” the criminal shrugged. “You keep acting like you’ve grown up, like you’re a strong independent man, but underneath all of that bluster, you’re still the same kid I picked up in the streets all those years ago.”  
“I’m not a kid anymore, and you know it.” Katsuya did his best not to let the older man’s provocation get the best of him. “I just happen to have some people I care about a lot, unlike you.”

Keith simply rolled his eyes and chuckled, which the blonde expected. Had they been arguing like that a few years ago, the teen would have found himself unable to retaliate further without retorting to insults or to using his fists; but now that he was older, and that he had seen a glimpse of what a miserable human being Keith Howard was a few days before, Katsuya simply added:

“I pity you, Keith, I really do.” his tone was sincere, taking his former mentor by surprise. “It must be hard thinking only of yourself all the time and preferring to intimidate people than to actually bond with them.”

Had he said that during their altercation at the Harpie’s Den, Katsuya’s tone would have been incisive and contemptuous. But ever since he had calmed down from his altercation with Prince Seto, Katsuya had been filled by an eerie and haunting feeling of calm sorrow and chagrined melancholy, and it made him see the man sitting in front of him in a different light.

From the enraged look flashing in Keith’s eyes, the teen expected the bandit to jump at his throat; but he didn’t, although his body was tense with the obvious need to start a fight with his former protégé.

“Pitying me, huh? What happened to decking me and slamming me against a table?”  
“If that can make you feel better, I don’t regret doing that.” Katsuya honestly answered. “I just think your life’s pretty sad.”  
“Like I give a fuck about what you or anyone else thinks about me.”

The blonde didn’t answer, preferring to sit down against the wall. With everything that had happened earlier, Katsuya decided that ignoring Keith was the best course of action, since whatever the man had to say to him was sure to be insignificant.

For a moment, the two former companions remained mute, the older man watching Katsuya with something between curiosity and contempt, the younger blonde burying his head against his knees and trying to cheer himself up by thinking about his favorite dreams featuring the mysterious knight that visited him every night.

However, Katsuya quickly found that doing so was having the exact opposite effect of what he wanted. Every time he tried to conjure the blonde knight’s face, it was almost instantly replaced by Prince Seto’s, and Katsuya wanted nothing less than to taint visions of his precious visitor with the future king’s image. When he felt particularly down – which, thankfully, was a rare event – the young man had taken to seeking refuge in those dreamlike memories; he knew it probably wasn’t the healthiest coping mechanism, but he couldn’t help it. The blonde stranger had grown so familiar than he had turned into a source of comfort Katsuya felt like he could turn to in dire times.

Unfortunately, that strategy wouldn’t work today. Thankfully, Katsuya was a creative person, and he quickly found other comforting thoughts to distract himself from the current predicament he was in. Just like when he was younger, the blonde filled his mind with nothing but Shizuka, thinking about her warm smile whenever she welcomed him home or tasted one of his culinary inventions, reminiscing fondly on his favorite memories with her.

After a long moment of silently staring at his former protégé, Keith understood the younger man was clearly done talking with him. That realization annoyed him: the bandit wasn’t exactly used to being ignored, especially not by someone who had been part of his gang – and an important part of it, on top of that.

Keith had heard of Katsuya Jounouchi far before he had seen him in action. Even though his crew was small, his men were efficient: he had eyes everywhere in the poorest parts of the capital, and even a few informers in richer districts. They had seen the boy successfully stealing several times, from unsuspecting targets’ pockets and distracted merchants’ stalls. It sadly wasn’t uncommon for children to turn to petty theft and shaky scams in those parts of the capital, but they often got caught and whoever caught them usually made sure to make them reconsider their career choices.

But Katsuya’s victims never even noticed their pockets were being picked. Only observant outsiders took notice of it, and after seeing him in action enough times, they agreed that their leader would be interested in the kid. They had been right: even though he couldn’t have been older than ten, Keith was sure the boy would be a fine addition to his crew, as long as he taught him the ropes of more interesting and more profitable schemes and skills and he made sure not to involve him in dangerous heists.

The gang leader had set a trap for the kid, a rather obvious one, but he had bet on him being unable to pass an occasion to steal even more money than usual. Keith had gotten dressed with fancy clothes, not expensive enough to look too out of place, but eye-catching enough to ensure he’d get the young thief’s attention. His bet had paid off, and it had been with a wide grin that he’d grabbed the boy’s wrist when he had felt him slide his hand in his pocket. The only reason Keith had even felt it in the first place was because he was a seasoned brigand himself, leaving him impressed by the boy’s technique.

Before putting his plan in motion, Keith had asked his men to investigate a bit about Katsuya, and the boy’s story was as typical as they came when talking about impoverished children retorting to stealing for the sole sake of their survival. A mother he lost to the ambrosia fields, a violent drunkard of a father, and a younger sister he seemed to love more than anything; even Keith couldn’t help but be slightly moved when he saw the defiant determination in the boy’s eyes after catching him red handed, his fierce resolve radiating from his feeble body even though his situation was desperate.

Katsuya had joined his crew without Keith even needing to threaten to turn him in to the authorities. He had done so without any hesitation, accepting the bandit’s offer mere moments after Keith was done exposing its terms and conditions. The boy had spent two years with Keith and his gang, and he had acquired quite the reputation in such a short amount of time and in spite of his young age, even earning the nickname of “Mad Dog”. Katsuya was as violent in brawls as he was meticulous when picking pockets, and sometimes even Keith couldn’t help the tiny pricks of dread picking at his heart when his eyes locked with the boy’s wild stare when he was giving in to his pent-up anger.

As he reminisced about the time Katsuya had spent as his protégé, Keith’s mind couldn’t help but drift towards what had brought an abrupt end to the relationship they built, one where Ketih had almost become a substitute father for the eldest Jounouchi sibling. A terrible role model, yes, but he had given him and Shizuka more affection and care their biological father had in the years following his wife’s passing.

Even though Keith had seen Katsuya at the heart of intense altercations, _nothing_ could have prepared him for the demented rage the boy had unleashed on him when he had come to get Shizuka as a payback for Rin Jounouchi failing to clear the considerable debt he owed Keith. The bandit hadn’t truly planned to sell her or hurt her; he had very questionable morals, but even he wouldn’t sink as low as treating a ten-year-old as a commodity. He had just wanted to scare the human wreck acting as her father into paying up, and to give a show of how he wasn’t to be messed with – which was why even to this day, he pretended his intentions had been to sell Shizuka. Keith was a ruthless bandit, and he did everything he could to add to that image, even if it meant lying or make himself appear a bit more heartless than he truly was.

Unfortunately, that particular scheme hadn’t been a good idea _at all_. Katsuya had turned into a feral monster, throwing himself at Keith and pummeling his mentor’s chest and face as hard as he could before losing it even more and clawing at his face until he left a bloodied carnage. On the edge of consciousness, Keith had vaguely seen a hysterical Shizuka begging her brother to stop, Katsuya finally listening to her once he thought the older man was unconscious, and the two siblings had run away just before Keith had passed out.

The scar over his right eye burned as the horrific memory played back in his mind. Keith absentmindedly brought his hand to the thick streak, and even though he still resented Katsuya for assaulting him, nearly blinding him and defecting from his crew, he couldn’t help but be impressed and even slightly proud that his former protégé had defied their future king in front of an entire crowd.

Maybe he’d taught the Mad Dog a few useful tricks, after all.

* * *

Alone in his private library, Prince Seto sat at his desk, several ancient books spread open on its satinwood surface. He had done his best to distract himself from the events that had taken place earlier in the day, figuring that reading ancient texts written in old and almost forgotten languages would need a tremendous effort from his brain and hopefully prevent it from replaying his meeting with Katsuya Jounouchi again and again.

Unfortunately, he had been wrong. No matter how hard he tried to bury himself in the antique tomes, his mind kept going back to the precise moment he had locked eyes with the man who he had believed was the one that kept visiting him every night. For a moment, Seto had been overwhelmed by a storm of emotions that were and weren’t his at the same time, to the point he had almost forgotten about the parade, the crowd, his incoming coronation, everything melting away save for the blonde commoner standing in front of him and the auburn knight haunting his dreams.

But when Katsuya had introduced himself and begun his accusatory diatribe, the illusion – Seto was now convinced it had been an illusion, nothing more than a coincidence his mind had been desperate to give meaning to – had shattered. The stranger with the kind and fierce chartreuse eyes was as bright and rough around the edges as he was kindhearted and protective, whereas Jounouchi seemed full of bitterness and regrets, although Seto had to admit they both seemed animated by the same strong sense of justice that never failed to impress him in his dreams.

Yet, for some reason, and even though night had long fallen over the kingdom, Seto simply couldn’t chase Jounouchi away from his thoughts. His image had begun to overlap with that of the mysterious knight, and the two men kept on trading places incessantly when the prince tried to play some of his dreams back, the redhead’s face being replaced by Jounouchi’s for a split second before turning back to normal. It filled him with an intense rage: how _dare_ the ignorant and boisterous teen who had accused him of being nothing more than a vapid heir bound to repeat his father’s mistakes taint the fragments of the dreams he held so dear?

In the end, the brunette got fed up with his own inability to simply forget about Jounouchi. Seto was used to being in perfect control of his psyche at any time, and he was mad at himself for letting that control he had spent years polishing slip away, all because of a simple altercation with a loud-mouthed imbecile that happened to look exactly like the phantom man he looked forward to meeting every night. Before he could even hold himself back, he brusquely got up and his arm angrily sent the books on his desk flying to the ground, where the heavy tomes collided loudly with the mahogany floor, a few torn pages silently following them.

“What?” the brunette hissed, hating how short of breath he sounded.

Even though Isono had mastered the art of moving around as silently as humanly possible, and perhaps even beyond, Seto always sensed when his bodyguard was standing behind him, even when Isono was still a few meters away. Nonplussed by the prince’s ability to feel his presence, his protector calmly answered:

“Captain Crawford is still awaiting your instructions concerning Katsuya Jounouchi, Your Highness.”

Seto let his hands vehemently slam on the desk, his arms holding his furious frame up as he still deliberately kept his back turned to Isono. The older man had known him since he was eight years old; in ten years, he had seen the prince in various states of emotional distress, and he was the only person Seto allowed himself to lose his composure with, even moreso than with Mokuba. But tonight, the brunette refused to let even Isono witness the anguish and inner turmoil he knew was clear on his usually stoic face.

“Tell him I won’t be the judge in that mutt’s trial. Isn’t he supposed to know the people he arrests are to be trialed in a court of law?”  
“He was expecting you to say that, and would like to remind you that as one of the multiple charges against Jounouchi is to have disrespected a member of the royal family to their face, the law requires _you_ to decide of his punishment.”

Pegasus was right, and it only annoyed Seto even further. Although he had failed pathetically, he had done his best to avoid thinking about Jounouchi, and he didn’t feel like he was in the right state of mind to find an appropriate sentence, one that wouldn’t be influenced by his own feelings on the offender.

Isono patiently waited for his master to announce his verdict, only partially aware of how quickly Seto’s mind was racing with countless possibilities, their consequences, doubts about the correct action to take, attempts to see the bigger picture and have a broader understanding of the situation, including a possible benefit he could gain from that whole mess.

Finally, the prince turned around to face his bodyguard, and even though Isono was used to see how calculating and sometimes outright sinister the Kaiba heir could look, he couldn’t help the tiny pinch of fear poking at his heart when he saw Seto’s almost demented gaze.

“Tell him to let him leave. No bail required. He’s free to go wherever he pleases.”  
“Your Highness, are you-”  
“I don’t remember asking for your advice. And you know I don’t like being interrupted when I’m speaking.”

The brunette sounded even more authoritative and curt than usual, and Isono couldn’t help but dread what would come next. Although he wasn’t anywhere near his father’s sky-high levels of megalomania, Seto had his pride – and a considerable pride, as that – and the bodyguard doubted he would be satisfied to simply let the man who had called him out so rudely in front of his subjects walk out of jail freely.

“As I was saying, that mutt will leave, and when he does, you’ll make sure to follow him and learn everything you can about him. And I do mean _everything_.”  
“Your Highness.” Isono carefully started, aware that he was treading in dangerous territory. “I understand your instructions, but I would prefer to send someone else to spy on Jounouchi. With your coronation ceremony drawing near, and with the complete failure of our security net during the parade, I refuse to leave your side.”  
“I’m touched, Isono, really.” Seto groaned, looking everything but touched. “But you’re the only person I can trust with this mission. No one else will be able to gather information as fast as you and without attracting unwanted attention.”  
“Your Highness, I-”  
“That's an _order_ , Isono. This isn’t up for discussion.” The prince made his way to his bodyguard, stopping just short of reaching him. From up close, his protector could see hints of Seto’s youth amidst the furious exasperation distorting his face, and he remembered that the prince wasn’t even eighteen years old yet.

It was something people tended to forget, and Isono was no exception. People were so used to Prince Seto carrying himself with the dignity and the assurance of a well-versed royal, to the heir’s impressive intellect and to his exceptional strategist abilities that they let the prince’s young age slip away from their minds. Even when Seto was younger, he had always conducted himself with confidence and pride and had quickly outshone every single one of his instructors.

Compared to him, it was no wonder people thought of Mokuba as a petulant and carefree child, even though the thirteen-year-old’s behavior wasn’t unusually immature for his age. The contrast with Seto’s attitude at the same age was astounding, and it only made the brunette seem even older than he really was.

But, Isono forced himself to remember, even though he was his direct superior and a member of the royal family, Seto remained a minor while he was nearing his fifties and had a much richer field experience than the brunette.

“I deeply apologize, Your Highness, but I can’t accept that order. We’re all extremely lucky that Jounouchi wasn’t ill-intentioned, because otherwise he might have gravely injured you – if not worse.”  
“And this is exactly why you _will_ learn as much about him as you can.” Seto’s cold azure eyes were unforgiving. “I won’t tolerate any insubordination. I can perfectly take care of myself. Now, don’t make me repeat myself, and be on your way.”

His tone admitting no rebuttals, Seto walked past Isono without sparing him as single glare as he left the library, the room’s heavy doors noisily closing behind him.

The bodyguard sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could already feel a migraine coming, and he had a feeling things were just starting to go downhill. There was a lot of time for the situation to get worse before Seto was crowned king, and Isono was almost certain it would.

* * *

_The figure standing in front of him is exactly what he expected. It’s a boy his age, sure, but their backgrounds couldn’t be any more different, and the blonde youth facing him is a walking cliché of how he imagines a product of a pure aristocratic lineage looks like._

_The young teen who’s been introduced as his fellow knight-in-training has a diaphanous carnation, surely betraying how little time he spends outside. Golden strands are neatly brushed back in a long ponytail that stops around his knees, its tip barely visible beneath his short silk tunic. A chiseled palladium headband delicately circles his forehead, shining just as bright as his inquisitive, stern ultramarine eyes. The newcomer’s build is slender, and the delicate silver and gold bracelets on his ankles and wrists contrast beautifully with his toned limbs._

_Meanwhile, it’s easy to forget his own tunic has once been white, for it is now dirtied with dust, grass and sweat. He doesn’t wear any jewelry, his sole accessory being a copper leather headband that desperately tries to keep his unruly hair away from his eyes. His tan is proof of how much time he spends training and working outside, and his chartreuse eyes sparkle with mischief and determination._

_While the blonde seems like the perfect embodiment of poised grace and elegant strength, everything in his being radiates raw power and loud chaos, and their eyes don’t let go of each other._

Katsuya grimaced in pain as his own fist collided with the side of his face, but intense relief almost made him forget about the pulsing ache.

After his most unpleasant encounter with Prince Seto, he had started to get visions of his nightly stranger even during the day, and they assaulted him without any precursory signs. Katsuya would be busy cleaning the Harpie’s Den kitchen, or on his way to shop for groceries, and then suddenly it would be as if he had brutally fallen asleep and been plunged in the middle of a dream, one that always featured the blonde stranger.

The young cook didn’t mind the visions themselves; he was always delighted to see more of the mysterious man he had grown to love so much. However, there was nothing pleasant about brutally checking out of consciousness, his body remaining frozen in place while his mind was sent deep in the impenetrable recesses of his subconscious. On top of that, once the visions had started to happen during the day, their frequency had kept on increasing, to the point Katsuya was now subjected to them around twice or thrice every twenty-four hours.

The formerly nightly scenes, which had once been Katsuya’s secret refuge, were now starting to worry him. Had he grown too attached to the phantom knight to the point his mind had started to have him invade Katsuya’s daily life? Was he on the verge of losing his grasp on reality, to the point he’d one day find himself unable to wake up from his dreams? And... would that even be a bad thing?

There was no way he could ask anyone any of those questions, the oldest Jounouchi sibling decided. Ishizu had to deal with visions as well, but hers were about the future and about _real_ people she met. His were nothing more than pieces of fiction, fragments of dreams that felt all too real and happened to feature someone he had fallen in love with, even though that person didn’t exist outside of his inner realm. No one could understand him, Katsuya was certain of it; and above all, he was terrified they’d deem him insane or mock him for his irrational attachment to a ghost living in his imagination.

And so Katsuya remained alone with his increasingly heavy secret, simply dismissing his short moments of absence as him having been particularly tired since Mai had prolonged his shifts. But that excuse wouldn’t hold on for much longer, Katsuya knew it, he could read it easily in the suspicion twinkling in Mai’s eyes or in the quiet concern on Shizuka’s face.

With a sigh, Katsuya shook his head and kept walking. It was around two in the morning, and he was thankful to have been trapped in his own dream only moments after leaving the Harpie’s Den, where a few lights were still dangling in the streets and where encounters with shadows were less likely. Still, the blonde promised himself to be more careful, and he even wondered if it wouldn’t be prudent to try and break free from the visions assaulting him outside of his sleep even when they didn't put him in any danger, no matter how heartrending the thought was.

After the incident with the young girl in the alleyway, Katsuya was even more careful when walking home at night, keeping his eyes peeled for the slightest movement in the corner of his vision, all his senses on high alert and his body ready to react at a moment’s notice, his right hand clasped around the wooden handle of his trusty knife.

His steps resounded in the empty streets, a cold wind sweeping over his slightly shivering frame and freezing his core despite the heavy woolen cape draped around his upper body. He was only a few minutes away from home, and just as he was shifting his thoughts away from the appealing perspective of eating a piece of Shizuka’s apple pie that was waiting for him on the kitchen table, Katsuya picked up on the faint, telltale noises of a brawl.

The teen’s sensitive ears immediately noticed the voice reaching him amidst the distinct sound of shadows melting together and hissing at their prey was that of a child, and he immediately started to run towards the commotion. As he dashed through deserted alleys and took shady shortcuts, the noises grew louder, and to his relief, Katsuya heard the shadows moaning in pain, followed by gross, wet sounds – probably of them exploding, if he trusted his memories of his recent fight against them.

When the blonde reached the alleyway where the battle was taking place, he was extremely surprised to find himself face to face with a boy standing in the middle of oozing, fuming puddles of defeated shadows. A turquoise glow surrounded his hands, and the rest of his body was surrounded by a faint golden aura, making him radiate a strength no one would guess his petite frame held.

However, as Katsuya ran towards the child, he noticed the dark, heavy bags under his wide, vibrant violet eyes. His tanned skin was splattered with oily black stains, and his surprisingly elegant and expensive-looking clothes were shredded in various places. His wild, long mane of dark hair surrounded his upper body like a dark halo, and before Katsuya could ask him if he was alright, the boy collapsed to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate myself for making Jounouchi and Kaiba so antagonistic... but if they leapt at each other and kissed romantically, there would be no story, trust me!   
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! And thank you for all the kudos, bookmarks, reviews. I'm sorry I neglected replying to reviews but I'll do my best to catch up on that.  
> Until next time!!


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